


Raph/Don Prompt Challenge

by babygirl127



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: 365 Prompt Challenge, M/M, Turtlecest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-03-13 22:59:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 366
Words: 242,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3399437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babygirl127/pseuds/babygirl127
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A challenge to write about the depth of a pairing over a year's time from January 1st all the way to December 31st and all the moments in between that are normally overlooked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Confession

**Author's Note:**

> January 1st - Sunshine

It was almost 7:30 in the morning when Raph pushed the manhole cover out of the way and, after checking to make sure he wouldn’t be seen, climbed out of the sewer. Turning back he reached a hand down and helped Don up to make sure he didn’t slip on the icy rungs of the ladder. After replacing the cover both silently climbed up a nearby fire escape to the roof of the adjacent building.

“Raph it’s 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday,” Don yawned as he climbed onto the roof. “We should both still be in bed sleeping, not running around on the rooftops in the snow.”

“I know that Donnie but I wanted to see the sun before the humans got up,” Raph told Don as he looked towards the horizon and the rising sun.

“Raph, we’re ninjas. We’re supposed to be masters of the shadows, not the sunshine,” Don reminded him.

Raph moved away from Donnie and went to sit at the edge of the rooftop. Now that he was more awake Don noticed that Raph was acting strange, at least in comparison to his normal behavior. When Don took a closer look at Raph he noticed how tense Raph seemed even though coming topside was his idea. He was also breathing harder and seemed to twitch more the closer Don got to him as he walked over.

“You know what I love most about the sunshine Donnie?” Raph asked without looking at him. “It’s so bright and warm. And especially on New Year’s Day, it makes me feel invincible, like I can do anything.”

“What are you getting at Raph?” Don asked with a tilt of his head.

Raph stood up and turned towards Don. He just stood there for a minute with his head bowed and his fists clenched.

With a sigh Raph started to talk, “I care about you Don. More than I should as a brother. I worry when you go to the junkyard by yourself. I feel this heavy weight in the pit of my stomach and it doesn’t go away until I know that your home safe. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed you just to try and get rid of that feeling. Whenever you’re sad I feel it too and I would do anything just to make you happy and make it so that you never have to worry about anything.”

“What are you saying exactly Raph?” Don asked nervously.

“I’m saying that I’m in love with you Don.” Raph answered as he looked up to face Don for the first time since making his confession.

“I, I don’t know what to say Raph,” Donnie responded.

“You don’t have to say anything Brainiac,” Raph told him. “I just couldn’t keep this to myself anymore. It was eating me up inside. I just wanted you to know and to see if you feel anything for me.”

Don hesitated for a moment looking down at the roof. “I do love you as a brother Raph. Nothing will ever change that. And I can’t say that we haven’t been growing closer lately. Just give me some time please,” Don said, looking up nervously. “This is a lot to take in and I just need some time to think.”

“That’s fine,” Raph said with a soft smile. “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once. Just know that no matter what you decide, I will always love you and be there for you Don.”

With that Raph turned and walked back over to the fire escape and started climbing down and heading back to the lair. Don turned and faced the sun that had almost completely risen above the horizon. He just hoped that it could give him the same courage that it had just given Raph.


	2. Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 2nd - Kiss

Donnie sat at his computer working on new upgrades to the lair’s security system. He had been trying to work on it all day now. He hadn’t made much progress but that could be because all he could think about was what Raph had said to him on that rooftop yesterday morning.

It wasn’t that he was disgusted by Raph’s confession. Far from it actually. There was something about Raph that had always drawn Donnie to him. They had always been close. When they were children it was Raph that Don ran to, to scare the monsters in his nightmares away, to make Mikey stop bothering him, or just for someone to play with, Raph was always his first choice. As they grew older and started venturing topside, it was Raph that accompanied Don to the junkyard and always made sure he had Don’s back in a fight.

Was it really any wonder that Raph’s feelings for Don had changed after all they had been through together? And was it really that hard for Don to believe that he might also be seeing his brother in a new light? No, it really wasn’t.

With his mind made up Don closed down the program knowing that he wouldn’t get anymore work done on it tonight. Flicking the lights off as he left the lab Don headed to the dojo where he could hear someone still up practicing on the punching bag.

As Donnie walked into the dojo he stopped and stood in the doorway for a few moments just watching Raph work on his punching bag. The way Raph’s muscles moved and flexed in the candle light hypnotized Don. He loved seeing the raw power that Raph wielded so effortlessly. Knowing that Raph could so easily hurt any of them if he wanted to and knowing that he never would. With his eyes still fixed on Raph, Don made himself known by clearing his throat as he walked farther into the room.

Hearing someone else in the room, Raph stopped punching the bag and turned towards Don. “What are you still doing up Brainiac?” Raph asked.

“I’ve been trying to upgrade the lair’s security,” Don said as he continued to walk farther into the dojo until he was standing right in front of Raph. “I haven’t been able to concentrate on it all day. All I’ve been able to think about is what you told me yesterday.”

“Don, no,” Raph interrupted. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you in the first place. I didn’t want to put pressure on you and …” Raph was forced to stop talking when Don covered his mouth with his hand.

“Raph stop,” Don told him. “I don’t feel pressured into anything. I’ve been thinking about what you said and I’ve thought about my own feelings. You’ve always been the one that I’ve turned to before. I’ve always felt safe with you. You’ve always been special to me and I want to see where these new feelings take me.”

Removing his hand, Don leaned in and pressed his lips to Raph’s. When he pulled back he had a slight blush on his face and looked up at Raph nervously. It took Raph a moment to fully come to his senses after the kiss. When he did he gave Don a soft smile and relaxed for what seemed like the first time since he made his confession to Donnie.

Putting his arms around Don’s waist, Raph pulled Don towards him and leaned his head in so that their lips were only an inch apart. “So genius,” Raph murmured. “You sure you really want this?”

The strong kiss that Don gave him was answer enough.


	3. Quitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 3rd - Loss

Raph was sitting on the couch with Mikey playing video games with him. Don was in his lab at his IT tech support job. As such, Raph had been banned from the lab unless there was an emergency because Don claimed that Raph distracted him too much. Raph saw it as giving Don some much deserved breaks.

This was the hardest part of the day for Raph. Their relationship was still new and Raph wanted to spend as much time with Don as he could. With a sigh, Raph settled farther into the couch and focused more on beating Mikey at his own game if he couldn’t spend the time with Donnie. Things were going well for Raph and he was about to win when both he and Mikey were startled from their game by yelling coming from Don’s lab.

“No I will not apologize to that idiot! It’s not my fault that his laptop fell off his car because he forgot about it and started driving. I’m tech support, not a miracle worker! No sir, contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right! Well you know what sir, you can kiss my ass because I quit!”

Both Raph and Mikey stared with open mouths as Don stormed out of his lab, slamming the door behind him and into his room, slamming that door as well. “Dude,” Mikey whispered. “I’ve never seen Don get that mad before. I mean he never yells or slams doors.”

“I know,” Raph agreed with a concerned look on his face. “I’m going to go check on him.” Raph got up from the couch and started moving towards the stairs.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mikey asked worriedly turning around to keep facing Raph. “Maybe we should leave him alone for now. Give him some time to cool down you know.”

“It’ll be fine,” Raph said as he started climbing the stairs. When he got to Don’s door he knocked and waited. Inside he could hear Don moving around inside and slamming things around. Trying the doorknob and finding it locked, Raph knocked again. “Don, either the open the door yourself or I’ll open it by force.”

There was silence for a moment and then Raph heard the soft click of the door unlocking. Slowly he opened the door and stepped into the room closing the door behind him. Donnie was still pacing back and forth across his room, clearly still agitated from the phone call with his boss.

“You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that,” Raph told him.

“It’s just so stupid,” Don replied, turning to face Raph but staying put. “I help every customer that calls. I’m always friendly. I’m never late to log in. I’ve stayed logged on late when customers have needed extra help. Hell, I worked through my break half the time before you made me stop.”

Don started pacing again much to Raph’s annoyance. With a small growl in the back of his throat Raph strode over, grabbed Don by his shoulders, and kissed him deeply. Raph pulled back, keeping his hands on Don’s shoulders, and looked at Don.

His lips were still parted and he had a dazed look on his face. With a sigh Don closed his eyes and leaned into Raph’s embrace. “It just really sucks,” Don mumbled.

“I know Don,” Raph told Don. Raph reached his hand up and started rubbing the back of Don’s head in a soothing motion. “That job was too stressful to begin with and then you got rude customers and a boss that’s a jackass. It just ain’t fair.”

Raph dipped his head down and nuzzled Don. “You may not have that crappy job anymore but you know what you do got?” Raph asked. Don shook his head. “You’ve got me and I ain’t going anywhere. If they can’t appreciate what they had then they don’t deserve you. It’s their loss and you’ll be a lot happier and less stressed now. If having a job is really that important to you than we can find something else. Something that won’t drive you crazy.”

Don sighed and cuddled closer into Raph’s arms. “Thank you Raphie. I needed that. I’m glad that I’ve got you. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if I didn’t.”

“No problem Donnie. I promise, I’ll always be here for you.”


	4. Broken Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 4th - Laundry

“Damn it!” Raph yelled. He had just finished loading the washing machine and turning it on when the door burst open spraying him with water, soap, and wet clothes. No matter how hard Raph tried, he couldn’t get the door to stay closed or the water to stop spraying out. Eventually Raph just reached back and unplugged the machine.

 _It’s my turn to do the laundry and the washer breaks. Again. Go figure._ Raph thought, growling low in the back of his throat as he pulled the machine away from the wall and took a look behind it. _Why does the damn thing always seem to break when it’s my turn_ , Raph thought angrily?

Turning around Raph stalked down the hallway to go find the resident genius. Don always knew how to fix the machine and get it running again. As Raph was going down the hall he passed Leo as the other turtle headed to the dojo to train. Leo opened his mouth to say something but was quickly cut off.

“Don’t start Fearless,” Raph said as he continued down the hall leaving a trail of water behind him.

Leo just closed his mouth, shook his head with a smile, and continued on his way.

Raph walked right in without even bothering to knock as soon as he got to the lab. Don was sitting at his desk trying to fix the video game controller that Mikey had broken yesterday after Raph had left him. “I’m not done with the controller yet Mikey. I told you I had other projects ahead of it and it was going to take some time. You’re just going to have to wait and be patient.”

“And he’s going to have to wait a bit longer.”

Don spun around in his chair and paused when he saw Raph standing there dripping wet. Seeing the puddle growing at Raph’s feet Don raise a hand to his mouth to try and cover the smiling that was forming.

“The washer’s broken again,” Raph told him with a scowl.

“Let me grab my tool box,” Don told him. As Don reached down to grab the box under his desk he also seized a towel from a nearby table and threw it to Raph. “You might want to dry yourself off. You’re dripping everywhere.”

Raph huffed as he caught the towel but started drying off as he and Don made their way back to the washer. When they got there Don couldn’t help a small chuckle as the mess of soap, water, and damp clothes that he saw. “So what exactly was the problem?” Don asked as he knelt down to start examining the machine.

“Well everything was fine at first,” Raph answered. “But then the door burst open and water just came gushing out. I had to unplug the thing to get it to stop.”

“It looks like the catch on the door is broken,” Don said after a minute of looking. “It shouldn’t take too long to fix.”

Raph sighed as he lean back against the wall to wait for Don to work his magic. “I just don’t get how we have so many things that need to be washed. I mean we’re turtles,” Raph said to Don. “We don’t exactly wear that many clothes you know?”

“Yeah but there’s Splinter’s robes, our sheets and blankets from the beds, the towels and washcloths from the bathroom. And it’s the middle of winter so we have our coats and human disguises that need to be cleaned. You get my point,” Don said with a laugh.

“I suppose you’re right,” Raph agreed. “I just hope you fix this thing quick. It’s my turn to do the laundry and you know Splinter won’t let me out of it. I hate having to do it by hand.”

“Don’t worry,” Don assured him. “It’s all fixed. When you’re done here do you want to come and join me in the lab?” Don asked with a wink as he put his tools away and got up. Raph nodded with a slight blush on his cheeks. Don’s smile widened as he turned and started back towards his lab. Raph glanced down at the washing machine. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that it broke after all.


	5. Piece of Paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 5th - Wedding

At Leo’s insistence the four had gone out for a run as soon as the sun had set despite the cold weather. As far as he was concerned they needed to be able to adapt to any conditions. The four had been running for about an hour when they stopped on a rooftop for a short break to catch their breath.

“Hey Leo, is it time to head back yet?” Mikey asked while stomping his feet and rubbing his arms to try and stay warm.

“We’ve only been out for an hour Mikey,” Leo told him. “We can keep going for a while longer.”

Seeing the scowl on Raph’s face and knowing that an argument was about to break out Don spoke up. “Mikey does have a point Leo. We may be warm blooded because of the mutation but we still retain cold blooded tendencies. It would probably be best if we found some shelter and got warmed up. April’s apartment is only a block away. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we visited for a little while.”

Looking at his brothers’ hopefully faces, Leo gave a small nod and started leading them to April’s. Upon reaching her apartment Leo saw April sitting on her couch watching tv and knocked on the window to get her attention. Hearing the knock, April turned to the window and smiled when she saw the brothers standing there. She quickly got up and went to unlock and open the window to let the boys in.

“Hey April. What’s up dudette?” Mikey said as he climbed through the window.

“Hi guys,” April greeted them. “I’m just spending the night in. I’ve been watching Say Yes to the Dress.” April walked back over to the couch and sat back down leaving room for the boys to join her if they wanted to.

Raph walked over to the couch and leaned over the back. “What’s Say Yes to the Dress? Some kind of chick show?”

“Not really,” April told him. “It’s a show about a bridal store in New York. It follows different brides-to-be as they pick out their wedding dresses.”

Leo and Mikey joined April on the couch as Raph told her, “Yeah that’s definitely a chick show.”

April turned around on the couch and gave Raph a look that caused him to grin sheepishly. Leo and Mikey both grinned like fools as she began to lecture him on how wonderful weddings are, not just for women but for men too. As Raph tuned out April’s lecture he looked over to see what Don was doing.

Raph noticed that the more April talked about how great weddings were the more quiet and withdrawn Don seemed to get. Following Raph’s gaze, April paused mid lecture with a sheepish look on her face.

“I’m sorry,” April apologized. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I just forgot that you guys can’t get married.”

“It’s alright April,” Don said with a forced smile. “It’s not insensitive. It’s just a fact.”

“We should be heading home guys,” Leo said as he stood up and tried to break the slight tension that had built in the room. “Thank you for allowing us to visit April.”

“No problem,” she said as they climbed out the window. “You guys are always welcome here. Be safe.”

When they got back to the lair Don walked into his lab and quietly closed the door behind him. Leo and Mikey went their own separate ways to relax before turning in for the night. Raph followed Don into the lab and saw him sitting in his computer chair, facing his dark computers, just staring into space.

“Hey Brainiac, what’s bugging you? You’ve been quiet ever since we left April’s?” Raph asked.

“It’s just, April was right. We’ll never have the ability to get married. I’m not saying I want to marry you right now. We’ve been together less than a week after all. But just to know that it isn’t even an option, that even if we did get to that point in our relationship…” Don sighed and turned away in his seat.

Raph took hold of Don’s shoulders, turned him back around, and knelt down so he could look up into Don’s face. “Don I want you to listen to me now and listen carefully,” Raph told him earnestly. “You’re right. We can never get married the same way April and Casey can. But a piece of paper isn’t what makes a marriage. It’s the commitment the people make to each other, the promise to always be there for one another.”

Donnie look Raph in the eye as a single tear welled up and fell down his cheek. “Do you really mean that Raph?”

“Course I do Don,” Raph said as he wiped the tear away. “A piece of paper doesn’t mean anything really. I mean look at how many humans get married, get that stupid piece of paper, and then get divorced within a year. What matters is the commitment behind the paper, not the paper itself. And I know it’s still early but someday, when you’re ready, I would like to make that kind of commitment to you.”

“Thank you Raphie,” Don said as wrapped his arms around Raph’s shoulders and moved closer to Raph. Raph tightened his arms around Don, content to just sit there for awhile holding the turtle he was already head over heels in love with.


	6. Peanuts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 6th - Anniversary

Don was still tired when he stumbled into the kitchen to get some breakfast before morning practice. He had been up late the night before, but unlike normal he hadn’t been working on a project in his lab.

After Don had regained his composure he and Raph had gone to his room and had talked late into the night. Actually, Don thought as he turned the coffee maker on, they had done a bit more than just talk. Don’s lips tingled with the memory of the many kisses they had shared before Raph had left to go to his own room. Their relationship was still new and they weren’t ready to tell their family what was going on between them yet.

When the coffee was ready Don poured two cups and joined Leo and Master Splinter who were already seated at the table drinking their morning tea and reading the newspaper. Breathing in the smell of the coffee Don took his first sip and sighed as it started to work its magic. Don felt himself start to wake up as the caffeine made its way through his veins.

“Good morning my son,” Master Splinter greeted Donatello.

“Good morning sensei,” Don replied. “Leo, do you have the comic section?”

“Yeah, here you go Don,” Leo said as he handed the section over.

“Thank you.”

The three of them sat in a comfortable silence for about five minutes with only the sounds of the rustling of paper or sips from cups breaking the quiet. The quiet was suddenly broken when Mikey came running into the kitchen being chased by an irate Raphael.

“Come back here you little shit!” Raph yelled as he chased Mikey around the table.

“Raphael, language,” Master Splinter said as Mikey hid behind Leo. “Michelangelo, would you care to explain yourself?” Mikey grinned sheepishly and shook his head no. “Very well. You will both do five flips before practice. Michelangelo for antagonizing your brother and Raphael for your language.” With that Master Splinter stood up and headed to the dojo for some early meditation.

Raph growled softly as he sat in the open seat next to Don and took the cup of coffee that was handed to him. Raph also kept a close eye on Mikey as he sat down next to Leo to make sure that he didn’t try anything else that morning. Glancing over at Don, Raph’s brow creased when he saw what his genius brother was reading.

“Yo Don, why are you reading the comics?” Raph asked. “I mean you usually read the news after Leo is done or any science stuff that might be in the paper.”

“I know,” Don replied with a smile. “I just wanted to read the Peanuts strip today.”

Raph leaned over to take a look for himself. “You’ve never gone out of your way to read it before. What’s so special about today?”

“It’s the sixtieth anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip today,” Don said as he laid the paper out in front of him so Raph could see it. “It debuted on Sunday January 6, 1952 in newspapers across the country. I wanted to see if they would do anything special for the anniversary.”

“It doesn’t look all that special,” Raph commented as he moved his face closer to Don’s and leaned over the paper. “I like the specials they do on tv better anyway.”

When Raph raised his head he was only a few inches away from Donnie’s face. Don’s breathe caught in his throat when he saw look in Raph’s eyes and the smile on his face. Unconsciously Don started to lean forward but was brought back to reality when Mikey launched himself across the table to grab the comic section.

“I want to see. I want to see.”

Don blushed when he realized what he had almost done in front of his brothers. “I’ll see you during practice,” Don murmured as he got up and put his cup in the sink before leaving the room.

Raph’s eyes followed Don as he walked out of the kitchen and towards the dojo. He smiled as he took another drink from his cup, pleased at the reaction that he was able to inspire in his partner even when he wasn’t even trying.


	7. Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 7th - Cloud

Don glanced one more time at his computer to make sure that it was still scanning and picked up his toolbox from the floor. The Battle Shell was past due for a maintenance inspection and Don finally had the time to take a look at it. As he walked out of his lab he paused for a moment to lock the door to prevent a certain younger brother from entering and messing up some of his more delicate work. That was one disaster he didn’t want a repeat of.

As Don walked through the main area of the lair Raph exited his room and saw Don heading for the elevator to the garage. “Hey Don. What are you up to?” Raph called down to him.

“Just heading up to work on the Battle Shell,” Don answered. “It was making a funny sound after our last getaway in it and I haven’t had a chance to look at it before now. I don’t want to get caught in a fight and have it break down.”

“Want some company?” Raph asked as he flipped over the railing. “I can work on my Shell Cycle so I won’t be in your way.”

“Sure. And for the record, you’re never in the way. Besides, the more the merrier,” Don said with a smile that was just for Raph.

The ride up the elevator was done in a comfortable silence. They parted ways when they reached the garage. Don headed over to his work bench and the Battle Shell. Raph flipped on the radio for some background noise as he moved towards his Shell Cycle. Don laid out the tool that he thought he would need on his work bench.

While he and Raph weren’t actively talking to one another they weren’t ignoring each other either. They were very comfortable in each other’s presence and didn’t feel the need to force conversation. However they would welcome one if it were to start.

As Don popped the hood of the Battle Shell and began taking a look he thought back on the past week. A lot has happened this past week. Seven days ago Raph and I were just brothers. Now we’re a couple. It was a big decision and one that I didn’t make lightly. It all feels so new and yet so easy at the same time like we’ve been doing this for years. In a way I guess we have since we’ve lived together our whole lives. I’m so glad that I told Raph yes those few days ago. It’s like he gave me something that I didn’t even know was missing. I’ve been floating on cloud nine ever since that first kiss.

Don was so deep in thought as he poked around under the hood that he didn’t notice Raph coming up behind him. When Raph put his hands on Don’s waist Don nearly jumped out of his shell from shock. Raph let out a deep chuckle behind him. “Relax Donnie-boy, it’s just me.”

“Raph don’t sneak up on me like that,” Don said as he put a hand over his heart and tried to calm its rapid beating as he turned around to face Raph.

“Sorry Donnie. I didn’t mean to scare you that much,” Raph told him as he moved to nuzzle Don. “I just finished up with what I needed to do with the Shell Cycle and wanted to see if you needed any help over here.”

“I think I’ve got it covered.” Don said as he leaned up and stole a kiss before turning back around. “It was just a hose that got a tear in it and came loose. It should only take me a minute to replace it and hook the new one back in again.”

“Alright,” Raph said as he stopped nuzzling Don’s neck and moved out of his way as Don continued to work. “When you finish do you want to steal the tv from Mikey and catch a movie before evening practice starts?”

With a final snap of the hose Don closed the hood and turned towards Raph. Putting his arms around Raph’s neck Don leaned close and whispered against Raph’s lips, “I like that way you think.” Closing the rest of the distance, Don met Raph’s lips with warm welcome. _Definitely cloud nine._


	8. Rocking Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 8th - Ocean

Sunday morning had rolled around again. The nice thing about it is that it was the only day of the week that they weren’t required to practice unless they wanted to. The one thing that Master Splinter did request of his sons was that all four of them be present for dinner but breakfast was also preferable.

Breakfast wasn’t too hard to make sure they attended because Mikey always made a big breakfast on Sunday and he was without a doubt the best cook in the family. When breakfast concluded the family split up to do their own things for the day.

Leo turned to Raph as he got up from the table and asked, “Do you want to spar for a little while? I want to get some practice in today and I’m in the mood to work with a partner.”

“Sure. Why not Fearless?” Raph said with a grin as he stood up and followed Leo to the dojo. “I’d love to be the one to kick your butt and knock you down a peg or two today.”

Mikey chuckled and shook his head as he started to clean up the dishes from breakfast. “Those two will never change.”

“I’m not sure that we would recognize them if they did,” Don agreed with a laugh as he stood up and started to help Mikey clean up the breakfast mess.

Mikey filled the sink and started to wash the dishes as Don grabbed a towel to dry them when he was done. “Hey Don, I’ve got a question. You and Raph have been spending a lot of time together this past week. What’s up with that?”

Don froze for a moment in drying the dishes. “He’s my brother and we have a lot in common so I’ve been spending more time with him,” Don answered carefully.

“That’s cool. I was just curious, that’s all,” Mikey said as he handed the last dish to Don and started draining the sink.

“I’m going to join sensei in the living room for a little while and read my book if you want to join me,” Don offered.

“Sounds like fun. Count me in Donnie.”

Half an hour later Leo and Raph exited the dojo together with their arms around each other’s shoulders and laughing. “I told you that I would take you down today,” Raph gloated.

“I know,” Leo said. “That was a good move that you managed to pull. You’ll have to teach me that sometime.” With that Leo pulled away and headed for the showers.

Raph continued on into the living room on his way to his room. As he passed through the main area he saw Donnie sitting on the couch and had an idea. “Don do you mind coming up to my room? I’ve got something that I’d like you to take a look at.”

“Sure Raph,” Don said as he closed his book and followed Raph up to his room.

As soon as Don closed the door behind him he found himself shoved back against the door with Raph’s mouth attached to his. Don grabbed Raph’s shoulders and pulled him closer to feel more of him against his skin while Raph reached around and turned the lock.

Pulling back so he could breathe Don asked, “I thought you wanted me to take a look at something?”

“I wanted you to look at my hammock and tell me if you think we could both fit on it,” Raph said with a smirk. When Don looked over at the hammock Raph attached his mouth to Don’s neck, covering it with kisses.

“I, I think we might both be able to fit but it might be tight. We can always lie close together to make sure that there’s enough room,” Don panted as he tilted his head to the side to give Raph more room to work.

“I like the way you think Donnie-boy,” Raph said as he pulled his head back and started tugging Don towards the hammock.

Once they were both situated they continued to explore each other’s mouths with their own. Carefully, so as not to startle Don, Raph began to run his hands over Don’s body which cased Don to let out a low churr. With some encouragement Don started to copy Raph’s actions and explore Raph’s body as well. Their movements caused the hammock they were laying on to sway back and forth as though being rocked by the waves on the ocean.

With the moans getting loader Don reluctantly took Raph’s hands in his own and pulled them away from his body. “We need to stop Raph,” Don gasped.

“Is this going too fast for you Don?” Raph asked with a worried look on his face.

“No it’s not that. Definitely not that,” Don assured him. “It’s just that it’s the middle of the day and everyone is awake and we’re getting kind of loud. I just don’t want someone to hear us.” Don ducked his head with a slight blush on his face. “Besides if we don’t stop now it would lead to more than just kissing and I’m not sure that I’m ready for that yet.”

Raph put his hand under Don’s chin and tilted his head up to face him. Running his thumb over Don’s cheek he said, “That’s okay with me Don. Like I said on day one, I’m willing to wait for you, however long it takes. I can be patient if it’s important enough and you’re definitely important enough.”

The smile that lit up Don’s face warmed Raph’s heart as he leaned in for one last kiss.


	9. Gilding the Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 9th - Gilded

“Don’t worry Casey. I’ll be there,” Raph reassured over the phone as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I’ve been waiting weeks for this game and I’m not going to miss it. Yeah, I’ll see you in a few hours for the pre-game show.”

Closing his shell cell, Raph opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Practice had been long and hard that morning and he was very thirsty. Raph had been paired up against Leo and it seemed like he was bound and determined to make up for his defeat at Raph’s hands yesterday. When Raph closed the door to the fridge he came face to face with Don standing there with a sly smile on his face.

“Hey Don. What’s up?” Raph asked curiously.

“Oh nothing much,” Don answered as he stepped around Raph to pour himself another cup of coffee. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Casey though.”

“Yeah, I’m going over to his place to watch the Alabama vs. LSU game in New Orleans at his place this evening,” Raph said. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Thank you for the offer but no,” Don said as he moved to sit down at the table. “I’ve finally caught up with all of the repairs that I had to do and I intend on using this free time to work on some projects of my own. I was just wondering how you were going to convince Leo to let you go.”

The last part was said innocently enough but it definitely caught Raph’s attention. “I ain’t planning on asking his permission,” Raph told him with a frown.

“That is one way to go about it but it would most likely result in a fight on your way out or a lecture when you got back at the very least,” Don said as he took a sip from his cup. “There is however another option. I could be tempted to back you up with Leo and get you to Casey’s without any negative consequences.”

“And how exactly do you plan to convince the almighty fearless leader to willingly agree to me going to Casey’s without arguing about it?” Rah asked skeptically as he joined Don at the table.

“It’s just a simple matter of gilding the lily,” Don said with a smile. Seeing Raph’s confused look Don explained what he meant. “To gild something is to give it a bright, pleasing, or specious aspect. In a case like this, gilding the lily would be buttering someone up before you ask a favor.”

“And what would be in it for you if I agreed to your offer of help?” Raph asked warily.

“Well,” Don said, “we’ve been going out for over a week and haven’t had an actual date yet. If I help you out with this I would like a romantic dinner in return. Since this is a little out of the blue I would accept this dinner date sometime within a week of today.”

Seeing the seriousness on Don’s face, Raph’s expression softened. “A dinner date sounds like the perfect exchange Donnie-boy. Besides, I should have done something like that before now. You deserve it,” Raph said as he raised a hand to stroke Donnie’s cheek. Glancing over Don’s shoulder Raph pulled his hand back. “Looks like it’s time for you to hold up your end of the deal and back me up with fearless.”

Leo nodded to them as he walked into the kitchen to put on some water to make a cup of tea. Once the kettle was on the stove he got a cup out off the shelf and took an empty seat at the table to wait for the water to heat.

“Leo, I just wanted to give you a heads up. I’m heading over to Casey’s to watch the play-off game this evening,” Raph said nonchalantly.

Leo’s brow creased. “I’m not sure that I like that Raph. It could be dangerous. It wouldn’t be dark when you head up and someone might see you.”

“Leo, I know that you worry about us when we go topside. That’s what makes you a great leader and brother,” Don interrupted. “You’re always there to protect us but more than that, you’ve made sure that we know how to protect ourselves, as well as this family. Raph is just going to Casey’s. Give him the chance to show you that he knows how to act like a ninja and get there and back safely and undetected.”

Leo looked back and forth between his two brothers for a moment while thinking Don’s argument through. “Alright,” Leo agreed after a minute, “but on one condition. You will let me know when you leave to go to Casey’s, you’ll come home no later than one hour after the game is over, and you will call me when you leave to come home.”

Seeing Raph open his mouth to argue Don kicked his leg under the table. Raph shot a glare at Don for the kick but Don just glared right back at him.

“Fine I promise,” Raph reluctantly agreed.

“In that case, I don’t have a problem with it. Have fun,” Leo said as he got up from the table as the kettle whistled. He poured the water into his cup and walked out of the room.

Don smirked and shot Raph a triumphant look as he sat back in his seat and continued to drink his coffee. “Okay,” Raph said. “A deal’s a deal. I’ll make you a romantic dinner for the two of us sometime this week.”


	10. Kisses in the Tunnels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 10th - Fireworks

Practice was an interesting experience that morning. Raph was still excited because he won his bet last night with Casey when his team won and now he had a place to take Don for their dinner later that week. To top it off, he was now paired with Don for their sparring session. Everything seemed to be going right for him this morning and his good mood seemed to be contagious.

Mikey was happy since Don had finally finished repairing his video game controller and Leo was happy that he didn’t have to fight to make sure everyone was on time to practice. Don was just as happy as Raph was to be his sparring partner.

Don was having a bit trouble paying attention to Master Splinter’s instructions because all he could focus on was Raph’s eyes on him. The feel of Raph’s eyes caressing his body made his face flush slightly and his heartbeat increase and they hadn’t even started sparring yet.

When practice finally did begin it was like the whole world just fell away. Nothing existed beyond the two of them. The hands that grabbed at each other were not only in an attempt to gain an advantage during the match but also served the purpose of allowing them to feel each other’s skin as they flexed and twisted to avoid being pinned beneath the other.

Don however was guilty of throwing some of the matches just so he could be pinned underneath Raph’s strong body. The looks that Raph gave him as he lay on top of Don said that Raph knew exactly what Don was doing and didn’t object to it in the least. Unfortunately they couldn’t stay that way for long without drawing suspicion to themselves.

After the morning practice and following meditation session were over the boys left the dojo to pursue their own activities. Leo headed to the showers to wash up and Mikey went to keep playing his video game until it was his turn to use the bathroom.

As Raph started towards the kitchen to get a drink he was stopped when Don grabbed his arm. “Raph I was thinking about going to check on the security cameras in the sewers and I was hoping that you might be willing to lean me a hand,” Don told him with a wink.

“I think I could be persuaded to help out,” Raph responded as he took a step closer to Don.

With a quick kiss so no one else would see, Don started pulling Raph towards the entrance to the lair. As they passed through the living area he saw Master Splinter stealing the remote from Mikey so he could watch his stories and paused to tell him where they were going.

“Don?” Mikey called over the back of the couch. “Don’t you need to bring your tools with you if you’re going to work on the security cameras?”

Don’s eyes widened at the mistaken that he made that could have gotten him and Raph caught before they even got out of the lair. “You’re right Mikey. I don’t know how I could have forgotten that,” Don said as he ran to obtain his toolbox from his lab.

Raph was standing by the door with a huge grin on his face as he waited for Don. When Don got there he just stuck his tongue out at Raph before proceeding out of the lair and deep into the sewers where they wouldn’t be easily discovered by any wandering brothers.

After walking for a few miles Raph lost his patience and gently but forcefully shoved Don back against the sewer wall and attached his mouth to Don’s. The suddenness of this action caused Don to drop his toolbox and grab onto Raph’s shoulders in order to keep from sinking to the ground. No matter how many times they kissed it was always better than the last.

They hadn’t had the time or the space to be able to make out often but every time they did was simply amazing as far as Don was concerned. The moment Raph’s lips touched his own he melted. Butterflies took up residence in his stomach and fireworks started shooting off in his head.

He could tell that Raph felt the same way. Every time they had to pull away to breathe and their eyes met it shown clear as day. Don could see the passion that burned in Raph’s amber eyes and it never failed to light a fire in his gut. The fireworks that he felt were better than any that occurred on the fourth of July and Don wasn’t about to waste these few precious moments that they had together before they had to head back to the lair.


	11. Room for dessert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 11th - Baby

The lair was in a rare state of quiet for the evening after a relatively peaceful day. Master Splinter was meditating in his room and Raph was lifting weights in the dojo. Don and Leo were sitting on the couch watching the evening news together discussing anything that thought was relevant to what they might encounter while they were on patrol when Mikey jumped over the back and landed in their laps.

“What do you guys think of pizza for dinner?” Mikey asked as he smiled innocently up at them.

While Don just raised an eyebrow at him Leo wasn’t as accommodating. “Mikey you know better than to jump over the back of the couch. We’ve talked about it. It isn’t good for the springs to land on the cushions like that.”

“But I didn’t land on the cushions. I landed on you,” Mikey said cheekily as he rolled off of Leo’s lap to sit on his other side. “We haven’t had pizza for a while and I want to know what toppings you guys want before I call in the order.”

“Pizza does sound like a good idea. I’d like Hawaiian please,” Don said.

“I don’t know,” Leo hesitated. “Pizza isn’t very healthy and you’ve been a bit slow in practice lately.”

“If it’s just a matter of health I can make a salad to go along with the pizza,” Don offered seeing the frown start to form on Mikey’s face.

“I guess that’s an acceptable compromise,” Leo conceded. “In that case I’ll have a veggie pizza.”

“Besides,” Mikey said, “my being slow in practice is totally not because of pizza. I’ve just been staying up late with my video games. Oops.” Mikey covered his mouth as though that would take back the words that he had just uttered. Turning around he ran towards the dojo presumably to ask Raph about dinner and escape any lecture from Leo.

Leo sighed and shook his head with a small smile. “You know, I almost wish you hadn’t fixed his gaming controller so quickly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time he breaks it,” Don chuckled. Don stood up from the couch and stretched still smiling at Leo. “I guess I’ll go make that salad so it will be ready when the pizza gets here.”

As Don walked into the kitchen he passed Mikey putting on his human disguise as he called in their pizza order. “Have fun topside. Make sure you don’t get caught,” Don teased. Mikey smiled and gave a wave as he kept talking on the phone and headed out into the sewer to get to the manhole cover closest to the pizza parlor.

Once in the kitchen Don started pulling out the vegetable that he would need to make the salad as well as a large bowl, cutting board, and knife. As he was chopping the lettuce on the cutting board he was joined stealthily by Raph who had finished his weightlifting. “What are you up to Donnie-boy?” he asked as he leaned back against the counter next to where Don was working so that their thighs were just barely touching.

“Leo wanted something healthy to go with the pizza so I offered to make a salad to go with it,” Don responded.

Raph nodded at the reply. “That’s a lot of lettuce that you’re cutting up,” Raph observed as he looked over Don’s shoulder.

“Well there has to be enough to feed the five of us,” Don responded dumping the lettuce in the bowl and starting on the carrots.

Raph scrunched his nose at Don’s comment. “You know I ain’t a fan of salads Donnie.”

“Salads are good for you though Raph,” Don said with a smile.

“Yeah but they don’t got no flavor to them,” Raph complained. “They ain’t got any flavor and they ain’t filling.”

“Well I’m adding in some baby corn and baby carrots. They’re both sweet and will add a bit of flavor and you might like them if you just give them a chance,” Don told him as he brought a carrot to his mouth and bit down on it all while keeping eye contact with Raph. “And we’re also having pizza so it’s not like you have to live on salad alone. It will leave room for the pizza to fill you up.”

“As long as I still have room for dessert, than I’m good,” Raph said with a wink. Moving behind Don, he slyly pinched Don’s tail as he walked out of the kitchen leaving a speechless Don behind.


	12. Making a list

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 12th - Groceries

Breakfast before morning practice was a quiet affair. Master Splinter and Leo were having their morning cup of tea and Don wasn’t awake enough while waiting for his coffee to brew to have an intelligent conversation. Raph had just dragged himself into the kitchen to have his morning coffee and he was not a morning person and was therefore left alone. Mikey was the only one that was ever really awake enough at breakfast to talk much and he wasn’t up yet.

“Donatello,” Master Splinter said getting his son’s attention, “it is your turn to create our grocery list for the week. Miss O’Neil has offered to pick up anything we may need today when she goes to the store. I would like for you to complete the list after practice so she doesn’t have to wait for us for very long.”

“Of course sensei,” Don said with a small bow as he poured himself and Raph their coffee and sat back down. “I’ll make sure that it gets done right after practice and then I’ll take it right up to her.”

“Very good,” Master Splinter responded as he finished his tea and put the empty cup in the sink. Heading out of the kitchen he paused and informed his sons, “practice will begin in ten minutes.”

As Master Splinter walked out of the door he passed Mikey who came bouncing into the kitchen. Raph growled slightly in annoyance as Mikey hit his chair on his way to the cabinet to grab some cereal. “Get up on the wrong side of the hammock Raphie?” Mikey teased as he kept moving around as he got his breakfast ready.

“Don’t. Call me. Raphie,” Raph growled.

Seeing the tension that had built in Raph’s shoulders, Don subtly reached over and gripped Raph’s forearm for a moment before pulling his hand back. It wasn’t large gesture but it did manage to catch Raph’s attention and he began to relax again at Don’s touch.

“I’m gonna go warm up,” Raph said as he got up to head to the dojo. While passing Don, Raph squeezed his shoulder in thanks.

~

With practice over, Mikey having beaten Leo to the bathroom to take a shower, and Master Splinter watching his stories, Raph and Don were pretty much left on their own. When Don headed into the kitchen to start making the grocery list Raph followed and took a seat at the table.

“Can’t keep yourself entertained on your own anymore?” Don teased.

“What, I’m not allowed to keep my brother company now?” Raph asked with a smile on his face.

“Not when the brother in question keeps looking at me the way you are right now,” Don replied with a grin. Turning around Don faced the cabinets as he checked what was in there and wrote items down on his list.

After a few minutes of watching Don, Raph came up behind him and put his hands gently but possessively on Don’s hips. As Raph leaned in to nuzzle Don’s neck Don leaned back into Raph’s embrace and nuzzled him back. “I love you Donnie-boy. I really do.”

Sighing, Don turned around so he was facing Raph and rested against him. “I know you do Raph,” Don said looking down shyly. “I’m not sure that I can say it back yet though. It’s not that I don’t feel something for you. I do. I just don’t know if it can be called love yet.”

Raph gently tipped Don’s face back up so he could look him in the eyes. “It’s okay Don. If you ain’t ready to say it then you don’t have to. When you tell me that you love me I want it to be because you mean it and not because you feel pressured into saying it.”

Feeling his eyes begin to mist up Don impulsively leaned up and forcefully pressed his lips to Raph’s in a deep kiss. Raph was startled by Don’s spontaneous action at first but quickly recovered and pressed against Don just as hard with little thought to anyone catching them.

When air finally became a necessity they pulled away from the kiss panting slightly. “Thank you Raphie,” Don said with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Like I said before, you’re worth waiting for Don,” Raph told him. Pulling away, Raph grabbed the grocery list out of Don’s hands and started heading out of the kitchen. “I’m gonna take the list to April’s and get the groceries.”

“You know I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself,” Don said.

“I know but you made the list so it makes sense that someone else goes to pick the food up and I’m volunteering,” Raph replied. “Besides, it suddenly feels a little warm in here and I could use the walk to cool down a bit.”

With that being said Raph left Don standing there shaking his head as Raph went to put on some heavier clothes to deal with the cold. _That and I need to ask April for a few surprise items that aren’t on the list Donnie-boy_ , Raph thought as he closed the door to the lair behind him.


	13. Dinner by Candlelight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 13th - Picnic

Don had spent most of the day and into the early evening in his lab working on increasing the durability of the shell cells so it would be harder for Mikey to break his. He was finally pulled away from his work on the cell phones by the sounds of explosions coming from the living room. Setting down his tools Don left his lab and walked into the living room to see what was going on.

What he saw was Leo and Mikey sitting together on the couch facing the tv display. Mikey had convinced Leo to take a break from practicing and had even managed to get him to play a video game with him. Leo had been hesitant at first but had gotten into it once he started gaining a lead on Mikey. Master Splinter was sitting in his chair just enjoying spending time with his sons.

Walking over to the couch Don rested against the back of it and just watched the two of them play for a few minutes. Looking around he noticed that one of his brothers, the one that he had grown a lot closer to in the past few weeks, was missing. “Hey, do any of you know where Raph is?” Don asked.

“Isn’t he up in his room?” Leo asked in return. Seeing Don shake his head no Leo scowled. “He knows better than to go topside during the day. It’s still light out and he could be seen.”

“Raphael went to Mr. Jones’ apartment to assist him with some work he needed done,” Master Splinter told his sons. “He informed me before he left and I gave him permission.”

Leo didn’t seem very happy with the answer but reluctantly went back to playing the video game with Mikey. Don for his part sat down on the couch next to Mikey to watch them. After three more games, Mikey winning two and Leo just barely squeaking out a victory for the third one, Don’s phone began to ring.

Seeing Raph on the caller ID Don answered the phone with a smile. “Hey Raph, what’s up?”

_“Hey Don. Do you mind coming up to Casey’s apartment? Something happened to the lights and we can’t get them to come back on.”_

“Yeah sure. Just let me grab my tools and I’ll be right there,” Don answered.

_“Let Master Splinter know that it might be a while. Casey’s apartment is a mess. It’s hard to find anything in here.”_

“Okay,” Don chuckled as he went to his lab to get his toolbox.

_“Oh and tell him not to wait for us for dinner. Casey said that he’ll order us pizza or something for helping him.”_

“Alright, I’ll let him know and I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Don said.

_“See you then Donnie-boy.”_

Closing the phone Don quickly put on a coat so he wouldn’t get too cold on his way to Casey’s. Once Don had his tools he went back into the living room and let Master Splinter know what was happening and where he was going before heading out.

Casey’s apartment was only a fifteen minute run once Don got to the surface. Climbing in the window, the first thing Don noticed was the candles scattered around the apartment casting a soft glow over everything. When Don looked around the room for Raph he saw him sitting in the middle of the floor with all of the furniture pushed back against the walls.

As he closed the window behind himself Don set his toolbox down on a nearby table and took a second glance around and noticed the blanket the Raph was sitting on and the basket next to him. Seeing Don hesitate by the window Raph got up and walked over to him nervously.

“So what do you think Don?” Raph asked carefully.

“I don’t know what to say,” Don told him with his mouth hanging open. “What is all of this?”

Raph took Don’s hand and started pulling him towards the blanket. “It’s dinner Donnie. Remember I promised you a dinner date in return for helping me with Leo? Well I figured that picnics are a classic meal for a date. Do you like it?”

Don’s face softened at Raph’s question and he turned to face him. “I love it Raph. Thank you.” Don leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Raph’s cheek causing him to blush.

Clearing his throat in embarrassment Raph sat back down on the blanket and motioned for Don to do the same. “I know it isn’t much. I ain’t the best cook, that’s Mikey, but I hope you like it,” Raph said.

“I’m sure I will,” Don told him as Raph opened the basket and started pulling out the food.

“I know that I should have done this a while ago Donnie-boy,” Raph said. “And I’m sorry that you had to wait so long. You deserve better than that.”

Reaching over Don cupped Raph’s face to make him look at him. “Raph it doesn’t matter if you do things like this. You could have never set all of this up and I would still be happy because you make me feel loved every day and that’s what really matters to me. That’s what I deserve and that’s what you do.”

Raph tipped his head towards Don’s until their foreheads were touching. “Thanks Don.”

“So, how did you convince Casey to let you use his apartment?” Don asked with a smile.

“I won a bet,” Raph said with a cocky grin. “I didn’t tell him exactly what I wanted to borrow the apartment for though. All I had to do was promise that I would leave everything the way it was when I got here.”

Don eyed Raph up and down for a moment before pushing onto his back and hovering over him. Don brought his face close to Raph’s until their lips were just an inch apart. “I have a feeling that you won’t be keeping that promise.”

The food was forgotten for the moment as they just enjoyed being together.


	14. Out in the Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 14th - Park

“Raph can I see you in the dojo for a minute?” Leo asked in a terse voice.

Raph sighed in resignation. He had noticed the look Leo had on his face when he and Don got back last night and had made it a point to stay out of Leo’s way today. Raph’s plan had worked for most of the day but now Leo had caught him alone and he couldn’t refuse without it turning into a huge argument in the middle of the lair.

“Sure,” Raph reluctantly said as he followed behind Leo.

Once Raph was through the door Leo closed it behind him to give them some privacy. Turning so that he was facing Raph, Leo crossed his arms over his plastron and just stared at Raph. After a moment Leo broke the silence. “Do you want to explain your actions last night?” Leo asked in a clipped voice.

“I was helping Casey move some stuff around in his apartment. April’s been spending some more time over there and she wanted it cleaner so I offered to help Casey out,” Raph responded easily.

Hearing Raph’s cavalier answer Leo’s scowled deepened and he became more agitated. “Why didn’t you let me know where you were going? I had no idea that you had even left the lair. What if you had gotten into trouble?” Leo demanded.

“You ain’t my keeper Leo. I let Master Splinter know where I was going and he said okay,” Raph said angrily but managing to keep himself from yelling.

Leo uncrossed his arms and let them fall by his side but clenched his fists in anger. Taking a step closer to Raph Leo told him, “I may not be your keeper but I am still your leader and I demand to know when you leave the lair.”

Seeing Leo’s more aggressive stance Raph also took a step forward. “Newsflash Leo. You may be the leader but Splinter is still our father and Master. I answer to him not you,” Raph shouted at him.

Raph angrily shoved past Leo to get out of the dojo and started towards the door to the lair. He didn’t get far before Leo was able to grab his arm to try and stop him from leaving.

“You aren’t leaving. I’m not done talking to you,” Leo yelled, oblivious to the audience that they were drawing.

“I am leaving and there ain’t nothing you can do to stop me,” Raph said as he broke Leo’s grip on his arm knocking him off balance. Moving quickly Raph was able to knock Leo’s feet out from under him with a sweep kick before he got his footing back and ran out of the front door to the lair.

Standing up Leo turned to look at the rest of his family that had gathered to see what was going on between him and Raph. As he looked between their faces he saw the shock on Mikey’s face, the annoyance that seemed to shine in Don’s eyes, and the slow shake of Master Splinter’s head that showed he was disappointed.

“I’m going after Raph. He’s probably heading topside and he didn’t take anything to keep warm,” Don announced.

“Very well my son,” Master Splinter said. “Bring him home safe. Leonardo, I would like to see you in my room. We have some things to discuss.”

“Yes Master Splinter,” Leo said quietly as he gave a small reluctant bow.

Ignoring everyone else Don put on the clothes he would need to keep from getting a cold and grabbed Raph’s stuff before hurrying out of the door after him. Raph may not have had a large lead on Don but he could certainly run fast when he was angry.

Flipping open his phone to track Raph, Don saw that he was heading towards the Central Park area. Closing the phone Don made a left at the next tunnel to take a short cut and hopefully catch up with Raph before he spent too much time outside without any coverings and came down with a cold.

~

Raph kicked at the snow as he kept moving to try and stay warm. He had been outside in the cold for a while and it was really starting to seep in and slow him down and he was beginning to regret coming topside without any clothes. Stupid Leo always thinking he can boss everyone around and get his own way. He ain’t my mom and I don’t answer to him. I didn’t even do anything wrong.

Hearing the crunch of snow behind him Raph spun around, crouching down, and drawing his sais all in one motion. When Don walked around the corner Raph relaxed, stood back up, and put his sais away.

“Scared of little old me,” Don teased as he walked over to where Raph was standing.

“I ain’t in the mood Donnie,” Raph said curtly looking away.

“Sorry,” Don apologized. “Will you at least put these on so you won’t catch a cold?”

Raph sighed but took the clothes that Don held out and put them on. “Thanks Don,” Raph said quietly feeling a little bit warmer. “Sorry I snapped at you. You didn’t deserve it. I ain’t mad at you.” Raph walked over and sat on a nearby bench and just stared at the snow that was beginning to softly fall.

Don went and sat next to him in silence, just waiting for Raph to start talking.

“It ain’t fair,” Raph began after a minute. “I didn’t do anything wrong last night. I told Splinter where I was going and he said okay. He’s our father. He should get the last say, not the almighty fearless leader.”

“I know what you mean. What he said was completely out of line,” Don told Raph leaning against his side. “If it makes you feel any better Master Splinter was going to talk to him when I left the lair.”

“Yeah I guess that makes it a bit better,” Raph sighed.

“Besides,” Don said nudging Raph’s shoulder with his own. “You can’t tell me that last night wasn’t worth hearing a lecture from Leo you that could probably recite in your sleep.”

Raph turned toward Don with a small grin starting to appear on his face. “Yeah I guess you’re right,” Raph admitted nudging Don’s shoulder with his own. “Last night was pretty nice. Seeing the look on your face when you first walked into Casey’s was priceless.”

“I was surprised at first considering I was expecting to fix the lights and not have a romantic dinner,” Don defended. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, where did you get all of those candles that you used last night?”

“I raided Leo’s stash,” Raph told him with a smirk.

The shocked expression on Don’s face and his slightly parted lips was too much of a temptation for Raph to resist. Tipping his head in he was able to catch Don’s lips with his own before the genius turtle knew what was happening. Pulling back Raph whispered, “Thanks for coming after me Don.”

“Always,” Don whispered back as he moved to claim his own kiss.


	15. Family of Clowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 15th - Circus

One thing Master Splinter liked about Sunday mornings was that they were usually quiet. No practice meant no complaining from his youngest and no violent attempts by his second oldest to get the youngest out of bed on time. Unfortunately for Master Splinter, today was not to be a nice, calm and quiet Sunday.

Out in the living room Mikey was talking animatedly about his newest comic while Don, Raph, and Leo sat on the couch listening to him. Raph and Leo were sitting next to each other only somewhat uncomfortably. When Raph and Don had returned to the lair last night Leo had pulled Raph aside and gave him an apology for his earlier behavior.

Don turned to Raph, gave him a small smile, reached his hand over and gave Raph’s a gentle squeeze. The scowl on Raph’s faces slowly disappeared. While he may have forgiven Leo, he was still annoyed at him. Don glanced back over at Mikey who was still talking about his comic. The only difference now was that Mikey was standing up on the chair and had it balanced on two of its legs.

Shaking his head in amusement Don said, “You know, if we were human we would probably fit in really well in the circus.”

“What do you mean Don?” Raph asked tilting his head sideways.

Leo turned his head towards Don, waiting for his explanation and Mikey had even set the chair back down to listen to him.

“Well take Mikey for example,” Don began to explain. “He has the balance and flexibility to be either a trapeze artist or an acrobat.”

“I guess you have a point,” Raph said followed by a sneeze.

Leo handed Raph the box of tissues from the side table, which Raph grudgingly accepted. Leaning forward so he could see Don, Leo asked, “What would I be if I were part of the circus?”

“You would definitely be the ring master,” Don said. “He’s the person that makes sure everything is running smoothly and talks to the audience. He’s like the leader of the circus.”

“And Raph would be the bearded lady,” Mikey laughed.

The laugh was cut short when Raph jumped up and tackled him to the round. Mikey managed to wiggle his way out of the hold and ran away as Raph chased him a bit slower than usual. Mikey ran and hid behind Leo, who had gotten up to make sure nothing got broken, for safety as Don calmly moved to intercept the charging Raph.

“I think Raph would make a good lion tamer,” Don said as he subtly squeezed Raph’s muscular shoulder.

“I guess that would be a cool job,” Raph said as he sat back down on the couch sending Mikey a glare as he continued to cling to Leo.

“What would you do if you were in the circus Donnie?” Leo asked as he moved to take his seat on the couch pulling Mikey with him onto the armrest since he refused to let go.

“I really don’t know. I never quite figured that out,” Don answered. “I’m not sure my tech skills would really have a place there.”

“Course they would Donnie,” Raph nudged him. “How do you think they get all of the clowns to fit in the car or make sure that any fireworks they use are small enough that they don’t burn down the building? Besides, if we were the one in the circus, who would make sure the cannon still worked after I stuffed the nutball in it?”

“Hey,” Mikey exclaimed indignantly causing everyone to laugh.

Don smiled at that. Leaning over Don whispered in Raph’s ear, “Than again, Mikey would probably make a pretty good clown.”

Sitting back they shared a smile as Mike ran around the room showing off the moves he would do as an acrobat. This definitely wouldn’t be a quiet Sunday.


	16. Time for Themselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 16th - Vacation

“I’m so tired of this cold shitty weather,” Raph sniffled as he and Don jumped across the roofs on patrol.

“I know what you mean,” Don agreed. “Are you coming down with a cold? You’ve been sniffling a lot lately and you don’t sound too good.”

Raph scowled lightly at the question. “I’m fine Donnie,” Raph insisted. “I don’t get sick just from a little measly cold weather.”

Don let the matter drop for the moment and continued on patrol but planned on bringing it up again later when they got back to the lair. He and Raph were to head north for at least an hour before going back to home while Leo and Mikey patrolled the south portion of the city.

“I think the thing I miss the most about the warm weather is being able to bask in the sun instead of the lamps I set up in the lab,” Don said. “I love the feeling of the warmth just sinking into my skin.”

“Yeah, that is nice,” Raph agreed as he scanned the street below them for any criminal activity. “It’s a pain to try to bask in the sun around here though. Too many people around. Leo would have a fit if we tried to go topside during the day.”

“Well it is a valid concern,” Don pointed out as he jumped to the next roof. “There is a large population in New York and even the more secluded parts aren’t completely devoid of traffic by humans.”

By that point in the night the wind was starting to pick up from small gusts to feel more like a cutting whip. It was bitterly cold and seemed to cut at their faces and any other exposed areas of skin as they moved along the rooftops. Seeing Raph begin to shiver in earnest Don motioned for Raph to follow him to a more sheltered location where they could still watch the streets.

“The farmhouse is a nice place to spend warm days,” Don said as he hunkered down close to Raph to share body heat. “There’s plenty of space to bask and it’s secluded enough that no one comes up there except for us, April, and Casey.”

“Yeah,” Raph agreed. “And there’s that nice lake in the woods. You and me could go for a nice private swim sometime.” Raph wiggled his eyebrows as he told Don that last part and smirked at the change in color on Don’s cheeks.

“We should do that,” Don said getting a thoughtful expression on his face.

“What, go for a swim?” Raph asked.

“Well, yes that,” Don agreed. “But I also meant going up to the farmhouse. Just the two of us for a mini vacation or something like that. What do you think?” Don looked down shyly 

Sliding even closer Raph wrapped an arm around Don and nuzzled his head until he looked up. When Don looked back up Raph touch their foreheads together so Don wouldn’t be able to look away again.

“I think having a vacation for just the two of us at the farmhouse is a wonderful idea,” Raph told him. “We’d get to spend the whole day together doing whatever we want. It would be very relaxing. And I’d get you all to myself.”

“We’d have to wait for warmer weather to go for that swim,” Don reasoned. “The only problem would be convincing Master Splinter and explaining why it would be for just the two of us and not the whole family.”

Raph thought about that for a moment before responding, “We could always tell them why.”  
Hearing this, Don stiffened in Raph’s hold. “What if they don’t understand? What if they don’t except us?” Don worried. Taking a breath he continued, “I don’t think we should tell them yet.”

“It is a bit soon,” Raph agreed. “Warm weather is a ways away so we do have plenty time.”

Seeing Raph’s smile brought out a matching one in Don. Feeling Raph shiver against him again Don stood up, pulling Raph with him. “Come on. It’s been at least an hour. We should head home now before your sniffles do turn into a cold.”

“I don’t get colds,” Raph grumbled as he followed Don back to the lair.


	17. Love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 17th - Sickness

Coming out of the kitchen while carrying a tray with chicken noodle soup on it Don could hear violent coughing coming from upstairs. Shaking his head in exasperation Don made his way up the stairs careful not to spill any of the soup.

Pushing open the door to his destination Don saw Raph out of bed and trying to lift weights. He wasn’t doing too well with his arms shaking with exhaustion and his fever making him dizzy. Sighing with frustration Don set the soup down on the bedside table and went and plucked the weights out of Raph’s hands with little effort.

“I thought I told you to stay in bed,” Don reprimanded him.

Raph grabbed for the weights that had been taken from him but was easily denied. “I don’t need to stay in bed,” Raph insisted. “There’s nothing wrong with me, I’m just a little warm. I ain’t sick. I don’t get sick.”

“You are sick,” Don maintained. “You were having trouble lifting ten pound weights when normally you can lift five times that with no problem. You also have a mild fever which will get worse if you don’t stay in bed.”

Don ushered a reluctant Raph back into his hammock and covered him with a light blanket before handing him his soup. Raph looked at the bowl hesitantly before taking a careful sip.

Don sighed in mild annoyance. “I may not be the cook Mikey is but I do know how to heat up a can of chicken noodle soup without ruining it,” Don said indignantly. “Besides, if you hadn’t run out of the lair before grabbing some clothes a few days ago, insisted on going on patrol in the freezing wind, and denied having a cold earlier you might not be on bed rest now.”

“How was I supposed to know that it would get this bad,” Raph complained between bites.

“Well if you had let me take a look at you when I had asked than it might not have gotten this bad,” Don said as he fluffed Raph’s pillow so he was sitting up comfortably and adjusting the blanket to make sure he stayed adequately covered.

“Don quit fussing,” Raph complained. “Fearless already acts like a mother hen. You don’t need to too.”

“I’m not being a mother hen,” Don claimed. “You’re sick and I love you so I’m going to take care of you and that’s the end of it.”

Realizing what he just said, Don paused in what he was doing and just stared at his hands while he fidgeted with the blanket. Raph grabbed onto his wrist to stop the fidgeting which caused Don to look up at him.

“You love me?” Raph asked hesitantly.

Don took a breath, “Yes, I do. I knew before that I cared about you a lot. More than a brother should probably. But seeing you like this and how worried it makes me, it goes beyond simple caring. I love you Raphael.” Don looked directly into Raph’s eyes to show the sincerity on his statement and emotions.

Hearing Don say for the first time that he loved him made Raph’s eyes start to tear up a bit. As he went to wipe his eye he saw a smirk form on Don’s face.

“I ain’t crying. This stupid fever is just messing with me,” Raph told him.

“I thought you said that you weren’t sick. If you aren’t sick than why do you have a fever?” Don asked in a teasing voice.

“Shut up,” grumbled Raph earning a laugh from Don.

Leaning over Don took the empty soup bowl from Raph and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. “I’m just going to take this downstairs and finish up a few things in my lab,” Don told him. “After that I’ll come back up here and keep you company.”

“Thanks Donnie,” Raph said sincerely. “I really appreciate everything thing you’re doing for me.”

“Not a problem Raph. Not a problem at all.”


	18. Worrying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 18th - Storm

The first thing Raph noticed as he opened his eyes was the darkness. Living underground Raph was used to it being dark so it wasn’t too surprising at first. The difference between the normal darkness and what he was seeing now though was the fact that he couldn’t see anything, not even the glow of his alarm clock. Glancing at the door he couldn’t see the line of light that usually shown at the bottom.

Sitting up Raph reached for the flashlight that he kept on the table beside the bed. When he finally managed to find it in the dark, he clicked it on and went into the hallway to see what was going on. Outside his room it was just as dark with the exception of a few dots of lights from some candles that had been lit.

As Raph made his way down the stairs he was spotted by Leo who walked over to him immediately. “Raph, you’re still sick. You should still be in bed,” Leo reprimanded gently.

“I ain’t that sick Leo. I can manage to make my way downstairs on my own,” Raph said as he made his way over to the couch. “What’s going on? Why is it so dark?”

“There’s a storm topside and it knocked out the power down here,” Leo explained as he walked around the couch and wrapped Raph in a blanket to keep him warm. “One of the parts to the backup generator is broken so the generator isn’t working right now.”

Raph grudgingly accepted the blanket from Leo and settled back in his seat. “Where is everyone else?” Raph questioned.

“Mikey’s in his room preparing for the end of the world because apparently it’s the start of the 2012 apocalypse. I was in the kitchen helping Master Splinter make sure that none of the food spoils. Don’s run to the junkyard because of the generator breaking and he needed to get the parts to fix it so the lair won’t get too cold.”

“What!” Raph exclaimed jumping up from the couch leaving the blanket behind him. Storming around the couch Raph moved towards the exit despite how woozy he felt. “You let him go topside by himself in the middle of a storm bad enough to knock out power down here? Are you crazy? I’m going after him.”

Jumping over the back of the couch Leo was able to block Raph’s path to the door and keep him from leaving. Holding out his hands to the sides in a defensive position Leo told him, “Raph wait. You aren’t well enough to go topside right now. If I let you leave Don would have my shell.”

That caught Raph’s attention and made him pause for a moment. “Why would Don care more about what I do than any of you?” Raph asked carefully.

Raph’s question earned him a strange look from Leo. “Because Don’s the family doctor and he doesn’t like it when his orders aren’t followed when it comes to someone being sick or injured,” Leo said. “You know that Raph.”

Giving a little sigh of relief that his and Don’s secret was still safe Raph made another move towards the exit. “Don can get as pissy as he wants, he still shouldn’t be up there by himself. It’s not safe,” Raph argued.

Leo blocked Raph’s exit attempt again. “He promised that he was going right to the dump, getting what he needed and coming right back. He’s a trained ninja just like you and me Raph. He can take care of himself and if he got into trouble he would call. He should be back soon anyways.”

Just as Raph opened his mouth to keep arguing the door t the lair opened revealing a soaking wet Donnie carrying a duffle bag full of stuff. Seeing both Raph and Leo standing in front of the door, Don rushed in and went to go check on the shivering Raph.

“Raph what are you doing out of bed? You’re just starting to recover and it’s too cold for you to be out here right now,” Don worried.

“Can it genius,” Raph said as he grabbed Don’s arm and dragged him to the lab. As soon as they crossed the threshold Raph closed the door behind them so no one would hear them. “What the shell do you think you were doing going topside by yourself in that storm? You could have been hurt,” Raph asked heatedly.

“Raph,” Don said taking hold of his shoulders to get his attention. “I was perfectly safe. I knew right where the parts that I needed were and they were close to the sewer exit. I was never in any danger. You’re the one that I’m worried about right now. With the power out and the generator not working it’s really cold down here and you could have a relapse.”

Seeing the truth of his words in Don’s eyes Raph relaxed. Reaching up he took Don’s hands off his shoulders but a kept a hold of them. “I’m sorry for worrying you Don,” Raph apologized. “I just don’t like when you’re somewhere that I can’t protect you.”

“What a pair we make,” Don laughed quietly. “Worrying about each other like this. Look, I promise, next time something like this happens I will wake you up so you know where I am as long as you follow the doctor’s orders and stay in bed when I tell you to.”

“And what is the doctor ordering right now?” Raph asked with a smirk.

“Lots of bed rest with a doctor there to make sure you feel all better,” Don said in a low voice as he leaned up for a kiss.

Suddenly Raph’s face scrunched up and he turned to the side as a violent sneeze erupted. Don couldn’t stop the burst of laughter at the sight of Raph. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek Don took Raph’s hand and started pulling Raph towards the door. “Come on Raph. Back to bed until the heat comes back on.”

Raph may have grumbled but he didn’t let go of Don’s hand as they hurried up to Raph’s room and he couldn’t hide the smile that had formed at Don’s small kiss.


	19. Good Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 19th - New Job

The day had been quite boring for Raph so far. Since his cold was still lingering Master Splinter had forbidden him from participating in the normal practice and kept him doing only katas and meditation for the day. Needless to say, Raph was starting to go a little stir crazy.

When practice was over Don had gone to his lab asking not to be disturbed until at least lunchtime. This left Raph with not much to keep him occupied and a lot of time on his hands until he could hang out with Donnie again. Master Splinter was watching his stories in the living area, Leo was continuing to meditate, and Mikey was up in his room working on one of his art projects which left Raph all on his own.

Having nothing better to do Raph went into the kitchen and started working on making lunch for the family. Mikey may have been the best cook of the family but that didn’t mean that Raph couldn’t make a decent meal that everyone would enjoy.

After going through the cupboards to see what they had in the lair Raph started pulling out ingredients to make a vegetable soup. After finally admitting to his cold and starting to recover from it, Raph was willing to concede that some hot soup would be a good choice for lunch.

With an hour and a half having passed and the soup beginning to bubble Mikey wondered into the kitchen following the delicious smell. “Hey Raphie,” Mikey said as he sniffed at the pot on the stove. “What did you make for lunch?”

“It’s a vegetable soup,” Raph answered. “I figured that something warm would be good after it getting so cold when the power went out last night. And don’t call me Raphie.”

Grabbing a spoon Mikey eagerly dipped it into the pot and sipped at it. “Very good,” Mikey complimented. “Almost as good as the stuff I make.” Mikey quickly moved out of the way as Raph growled and swatted at him good-naturedly. “Too slow,” Mikey laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up funny boy. See if I ever cook for you again,” Raph said as he scooped soup into two bowls.

“Hungry Raph?” Mikey asked as he ladled his own portion.

“No I’m just gonna bring some to Don,” responded Raph. “You know how he is about remembering to come out of his lab and eat.”

On his way to the lab Raph stopped and told Master Splinter and Leo that lunch was ready before continuing on his way. Pushing open the door to the lab he saw Don sitting in his comfortable desk chair typing a mile a minute on his computer.

“Hey Donnie,” Raph said as he walked into the room, letting the door close behind him. Walking over to Don he pulled the chair back and away from the computer. “Lunch time and don’t try telling me that you’ll eat later.”

Chuckling Don took the bowl that was offered to him. “I was jump finishing up that last line of code and then I was going to come out and eat,” Don told him. Seeing the skeptical look on Raph’s face he continued, “I was, really. I could smell the soup all the way in here.”

Nodding Raph accepted the answer. “What are these things?” Raph asked picking up a random item from Don’s desk.

“They’re just some random pieces that I grabbed while I was at the junkyard last night?” Don answered. “I thought I might be able to make something out of them. I’m not quite sure what yet but I’m confident that they could make something useful.”

Raph twirled the bit of metal in his fingers just looking at it while Don ate his soup and worked a bit more on his program. “You know how to make some pretty cool stuff from the junk that you find at the dump,” Raph commented.

“Yeah,” Don said with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve had a lot of practice. We can’t exactly go out and buy everything we need so I have to be resourceful and make a lot of it. What are you getting at?”

“It’s just that you were really upset at quitting your IT job,” Raph said carefully. “I was just thinking that maybe you could get a new job. You could make stuff out of the junk from the dump and sell it. I mean there are sites like eBay that would do it for you or I’m sure you could make your own site. And this way you could go at your own pace and wouldn’t have to answer to a jackass boss or annoying customers. That is, only if you wanted to I mean.”

Don’s face lit up as he listened to Raph’s plan. “Raph that’s a great idea!” Don exclaimed. “I was upset that we didn’t have that steady income coming in any more. And you could help me with some things too if you wanted to. I may have made the shell cycle but you know how to fix it just as well as I do now and you help me around the lair with small repairs all of the time.”  
Jumping up Don threw his arms around Raph’s shoulders and gave him a deep kiss. “Thank you Raphie,” Don said with shining eyes.

“Not a problem Donnie-boy,” Raph said putting his hands on Don’s waist as he leaned forward and nuzzled Don’s neck.


	20. From Bad to Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 20th - Bad Day

For the first time in a few days Raph was allowed to take part in daily morning practice. He was still sniffling a bit but it was nothing that would prevent him from doing katas and sparring with his brothers. While lady luck may have decided to grace Raph with her presence she had apparently turned her back on Don.

He was beginning to sniffle a little bit after having been around Raph so much when he had a cold. Don was determined however for it not to escalate into a full-blown cold like Raph’s sniffles had and had been taking it easy and upping his liquid intake to prevent it.

Practice didn’t offer any relief for Don though. His head felt fuzzy after all the sniffling he had done and that was making it harder for him to concentrate. Master Splinter had them sparring against each other and changing partners after every other match.

Don was brought back to the present as he was slammed into the mat for the sixth time since practice had started. He had only managed to win one out of six matches so far and that was only because Mikey got distracted by Raph and Leo’s fight. As much as Don wanted to blame his defeats on not feeling well he knew that it wasn’t the only thing to blame. He had never been the strongest fighter of the four but he wasn’t usually overpowered this many times in one practice. It was just shaping up to be a really bad day.

~

As the boys ran around topside for patrol Don reflected back on his day. Practice had not improved in the least, he had somehow managed to burn his coffee, and to top it off his computer had gotten a virus and wiped out his latest research. All in all, it had been a really bad day and he didn’t have many hopes for it to improve over patrol.

Casey had joined them for their run in the hopes of being able to bust some heads with the advantage of some backup. About twenty minutes into the patrol Casey spotted five Purple Dragons trying to mug two girls in an alleyway. Assessing the situation Leo gave a nod of approval and the five of them leapt down. Raph and Casey charged right at the punks while Leo and Mikey hung back a bit and let the two of them have their fun. Don kept to the back to protect the girls and make sure they didn’t end up in the middle of the fight.

One of the punks ran towards the girls that were cornered with the intention of using them as hostages. Seeing where they were headed Don moved to intercept him. Don was able to catch him around his middle with his Bo and incapacitate but got tripped up himself and didn’t see someone coming up behind him. Luckily Casey did.

Casey grabbed the punk and threw him towards the wall. Unfortunately the mugger had a hold of Casey’s sweatshirt and pulled him into the wall with him. Casey wasn’t able to twist out of the way fast enough and slammed into the wall headfirst. Sliding down onto his butt he sat there clutching where he had hit his head looking dazed.

Seeing that the girls were safe and his brothers were taking care of the last three Purple Dragons Don went to check on Casey and see how he was doing. “Casey look up at me,” Don ordered. “Casey I need you to focus right now. How many fingers am I holding up?”

Casey swatted Don’s hand out of his face. “I’m fine Don,” Casey said groggily as he slowly stood up. “It’s just a bump. No big deal.”

Raph walked over to the pair after having finished off the last of the muggers to see how his friend was doing. “Yo Bonehead, you’re not suppose to break your fall with your head,” Raph mocked, as he covertly looked him over. “Is he okay?” Raph asked Don.

“He should be. He might have a minor concussion though,” Don assured. “I’d feel better if we took him to April’s just in case.”

~

After making sure that Casey was safely ensconced on April’s couch the boys went to leave the apartment to head back outside. As Don was climbing out of the window he managed to slip in the patch of ice that had formed on the windowsill and fall flat on his face.

“Are you okay Donnie?” Raph asked as he helped him back up.

“I’m fine. Nothing hurt but my pride. Let’s just head back to the lair for the night. Casey should be alright with April,” said Don as he started climbing down the fire escape. “I am so ready for this crappy day to be over.”


	21. Good Doctor?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 21st - Hospital

With no practice until the evening, the boys had decided to take it easy that morning and just relax. Mikey had managed to convince his brothers to join him in the living room and watch Saturday morning cartoons on the couch with him. There had been some grumbling at first, mostly from Raph, but eventually they all caved to Mikey’s patented puppy dog eyes.

Mikey was ecstatic because there was a Justice Force marathon on that morning and he couldn’t sit still. He had been bouncing in his seat ever since the show started which didn’t bode well for him since he was sitting next to Raph. The bouncing was really starting to get on Raph’s nerves and he was about to jump on Mikey to make sit still when Leo intervened and pulled Mikey over to sit with him.

Raph huffed a bit as he sat back into the couch next to Don and looked over his shoulder at the book he was reading. “What are you reading? Anything interesting?” Raph asked.

“It’s a book about coding that I borrowed from Leatherhead,” Don answered. “It’s really fascinating. I’m hoping that it will help me improve the time it takes for me to hack into different systems.”

“That sounds oh so riveting,” Raph replied sarcastically with a smirk.

“You don’t complain when it’s the Foot that I’m hacking,” said Don with a returning smile.  
Before Raph could respond Leo’s shell cell began to ring, interrupting their conversation.

“Hey April,” Leo said as he answered the phone. “How are you doing? Is Casey feeling any better? Oh, I’m sorry. Is he doing all right? Yeah, okay. I’ll let the others know. Thanks for letting us know. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

“What’s going on Leo?” Mikey asked. “Is April okay?”

“Yeah April’s fine,” answered Leo. “It’s Casey that isn’t doing too well. April had to take him to the hospital last night. Apparently his concussion was worse than we thought. He’s doing fine now but April just wanted to give us a heads up.”

As he listened to Leo talk a worried expression formed on Don’s face. “What do you mean his concussion was worse than we thought? He was doing fine when we dropped him off at April’s last night.” Don questioned.

“She said that he was vomiting and fading in and out of consciousness. She got worried so she brought him in to the hospital to have him checked out and that he’s doing fine now. He won’t be able to go out on patrol with us until he’s fully healed though,” Leo replied.

“Oh,” Don said quietly. Without saying anything else he got off the couch and headed into the dojo closing the door behind him.

“What’s the matter with Donnie?” Mikey asked looking between Leo and Raph.

“I don’t know Mikey but I’ll go talk to him,” Leo said.

“I’ll do it. You just stay here fearless,” Raph said jumping up off the couch and following after Don.

Opening the door he could see Don in the dojo practicing on his punching bag. It wasn’t unheard of for Don to use the punching bag but when he did it was usually just light punches in order to warm up. Instead of his usual, Don was hitting the bag with everything he had. Raph was so shocked by this sight that he just stood in the doorway for a moment to make sure he was seeing things correctly.

Getting over his shock, Raph walked over to where Don was standing. “Don what’s wrong?” Raph asked concerned.

“It’s all my fault,” answered Don as kept going at the punching bag completely ignoring Raph.

That came to an end really fast when he was grabbed around the shoulders and turned around to face Raph. “What are you talking about Donnie? What’s all your fault?” Raph pressed.

“Casey getting as hurt as he did. I’m the ‘doctor’ of the family remember,” Don responded sarcastically. “I should have seen that it wasn’t just a minor concussion and made him go to the hospital right away. He could have died if April wasn’t there and hadn’t taken him in.”

At this point Don was near tears with how upset he was. Raph just pulled him into his arms and held him close running a soothing hand back and forth across his shell. “It’s okay Donnie-boy,” Raph comforted. “You aren’t to blame. It wasn’t your fault that he got hurt in the first place; it was that punk’s. And you weren’t the only one that thought that bump was no big deal. We all agreed on that and we’ve all had enough experience with concussions that it wasn’t just on you to make that decision.”

Pulling back a bit so that he could look Don in the face he continued, “You are the doctor of the family Donnie, and I would trust you with my life any day of the week.

That got a small smile out of Don just like he intended. “You were the one that insisted that Casey go to April’s instead of going to his own apartment. You’re a good doctor and I will always trust your calls.”

“Thank you Raph,” Don sighed as he leaned back against Raph and just stood there in his comforting warmth for a while longer.


	22. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 22nd - Neighbors

It was very quiet in the lair that morning as Raph wandered into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Normally he would have waited for Mikey to come in and make his usual big Sunday breakfast but Mikey was occupied at the moment and wouldn’t be available for a while. He had been very distracted during practice the previous night and hadn’t done so well. As a result, Master Splinter had ordered him to have extra practice with Leo today.

Raph didn’t mind that too much because that meant that he and Don would be able to enjoy a nice breakfast with just the two of them. At least that’s what Raph had thought until he entered the kitchen and saw only Master Splinter in their sipping his tea.

“Good morning my son,” Master Splinter said as Raph moved over towards the table.

“Morning sensei,” replied Raph looking around the room. “Do you know where Don is? I figured that he would jump at the chance of a quiet breakfast since Leo and Mikey are in the dojo.”

“I believe Donatello is in his lab,” Splinter answered with an unfathomable expression in his eyes. “He mentioned to me earlier that he would be visit our neighbor Leatherhead for the day.”

“Oh,” Raph commented absently. “I’m gonna go check on him and see if he needs help with anything.”

As Raph walked out of the kitchen he missed the smile that appeared on Master Splinter’s face. Seeing the door to the lab closed Raph knocked and waited for permission to enter instead of just barging in like normal. As Raph entered into the room, Don glanced up from putting things in his duffle bag to smile at him.

“Hey. What’s up?” Don asked as Raph settled himself against Don’s desk.

“Nothing much,” Raph answered. “Just wanted to see what you were up to and see if you wanted to have breakfast with me. Leo and Mikey are in the dojo so it would just be the two of us.”

“I’m sorry Raph,” Don apologized going back to packing his bag. “I’m heading over to Leatherhead’s today so I already grabbed something to eat.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time over at Leatherhead’s,” Raph commented quietly.

“Yeah we’ve been working on some new coding for his transmat,” Don said without looking up from the books and tools that he was gathering into his duffle bag. “He thinks that he’s onto an idea that might finally make it work and allow him the chance to see his Utrom family again.”

Raph just grumbled unintelligibly as he shuffled out of Don’s way. This caught Don’s attention and made him look up from what he was doing. “Are you okay Raph?” Don asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Raph said gruffly crossing his arms and looking away from Don.

The gruffness in Raph’s voice and the coarse brush off felt like a slap to the face to Don. “Raph is there something you want to tell me?” asked Don concernedly. “You seem very upset about me going over to Leatherhead’s.”

“Naw, it’s no big deal. Spend all day long over there if you want,” Raph said still refusing to look Don in the eye.

“Raph are you, are you jealous of me spending time with Leatherhead,” questioned Don.

Raph’s head whipped around at that. “Why would I be jealous? Just because you’re choosing to spend the day with some giant crocodile instead of me. On the one day that we have no required practice or patrol. On one of the few Sundays that Master Splinter is watching his stories and Leo and Mikey are going to be cooped up in the dojo for most of the day giving us plenty of free time to spend together. No I ain’t jealous that our neighbor is the one that’s got your attention.”

A smile slowly grew on Don’s face as he walked over to Raph and took his face between his hands and forced Raph to look at him. “Raph there is no need to be jealous. LH is just a friend and he needs my help. It’s not that I would rather spend time with him over you. I love spending time with you but I need time with my friend the same way you do. You need the time you spend with Casey the same way I need the time to spend with LH.” Leaning up Don placed a gentle kiss on Raph’s lips. “That doesn’t make you any less important to me.”

Sighing, Raph relaxed from his tense posture and put his arms around Don. “I know that I can’t ask you to spend all of your time with me,” Raph admitted reluctantly. “That ain’t fair to you, especially with the time that I spend with Casey. Doesn’t mean that I can’t still miss you when you aren’t here and that I can’t be jealous of you spending time with LH.”

“It’s okay if you’re a little jealous,” Don smiled. “It makes me feel wanted.”

“You are wanted,” Raph assured him.

Don nuzzled Raph’s cheek. “As long as you don’t go overboard with it, I don’t mind a little jealousy.”

“Good, cause I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.”


	23. Broken Bike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 23rd - Driving

Raph growled and threw his helmet to the side as he exited the elevator and stalked into the lair. Heads turned to look at him as he walked through the lair towards Donnie’s lab but Raph just ignored everyone else. Slamming the door open, Raph disregarded Don’s yelp of surprise and stormed over to where Don kept his tools and started rummaging through them, throwing away what he didn’t need.

“I hesitate to ask, considering the violence towards my tools, but do you need help with something?” Don asked carefully.

“My damn bike is acting up,” Raph growled slamming down the wrench in his hand and turning to face Don. “The driving is rough and I can’t figure out what’s wrong!”

“Just calm down and take a breath,” Don soothed. “Just let me save my work and I’ll come up with you and see if I can figure out what’s wrong and see if I can fix it.”

“Fine,” Raph reluctantly agreed. “There’s nothing else that I can think of and if I keep working on it I’m just gonna end up breaking it even more.”

While Donnie saved and closed out of the program that he had been working on, Raph picked up the tools that he had thrown around the room and put them back in the toolbox. When Don was finished Raph sheepishly held the toolbox out to him and followed as Don led the way to the elevator the take them up to the garage.

As the doors of the elevator opened, all Don could do was shake his head at the mess that was now the garage. The tools and parts that were scattered across the floor were an obvious statement to how frustrated Raph had become in his quest to fix his bike.

“Well first things first,” Don said taking the helmet from Raph that he had picked up on their way up there. “I’m going to take a quick ride around the block so I can see what’s going on with it firsthand.”

With that Don started the bike and rode out the side door for the test drive while Raph started picking up the stuff that he had thrown around in his anger. By the time everything was back where it was supposed to be Don had returned and was putting the bike back in its stand.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that it wasn’t driving well,” said Don as he got off the bike and started looking it over. “When did you first notice that something was wrong with it?” Don started looking through the guts of the bike while he waited for Raph’s answer.

“Yesterday evening when I went to go check on Casey,” responded Raph. He stood back out of the way to give Don the space he needed to work. The fact that it gave him a nice view of Don’s ass and his wiggling tail was just an extra bonus.

“I think I found the problem,” Don said after a few minutes of searching. “Two of the wires were misconnected. My guess is that they probably came undone during a previous drive and when you reconnected them you just switched up their placement. They’re the same color and right next to each other so it’s an easy mistake to make.”

“Thanks Donnie,” Raph said with a genuine smile.

“Don’t thank me yet. Let’s see how it runs first,” Don cautioned.

Turning the bike on they both waited with baited breath to see if the problem was fixed and if the bike would run correctly. When they heard the smooth purr of the engine and saw the steady rumble of the bike as it sat in its stand they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Raph watched as Don sat on the bike while it idled in its stand. He couldn’t seem to take his eye off of Don thighs. The way they gripped the bike between them and the way they trembled with the vibrations of the still running motor made heat pool in Raph’s lower body.

As Don secured the bike to make sure it wouldn’t fall over, Raph made his way over to him without much conscious thought. Seeing the way Don’s tail wiggled in excitement over having fixed the shell cycle brought a smirk to Raph’s face and an idea popped into his head.

Raph threw his leg over the bike so he was now seated behind Don and pressing right up against him. Reaching forward Raph took hold of Don’s hand that was reaching forward to turn the engine off and pulled it back so that it was resting on his thigh. “Just relax Donnie-boy and let me do the driving right now,” Raph murmured in his ear, earning a small gasp from the turtle in front o him.

Nodding, Don leaned back against Raph’s plastron and enjoyed the feel of the rough pads of Raph’s fingers as they traced their way across his body. Raph started out running just his fingertips along the length of Don’s outer thighs and moving them up to his hips. He massaged Don’s hips in small circles as he leaned forward to kiss and nip at the neck in front of him.

Don titled his head to the side to give Raph better access and couldn’t stop a small churr from escaping his throat. Without much thought, Don slid his hands to either side and began to stroke at whatever part of Raph they could find. Raph slowly dragged is hands to the front of Don’s plastron, making sure he felt every movement. The slow pull of those rough fingers on his plastron caused Don’s hips to buck forward and a whimper to escape.

“Raph, please,” Don moaned.

Raph chuckled as he pulled his mouth away from the spot that he had been kissing. “Please what Don?” Raph asked as his fingers travelled lower to the slit that was starting to bulge as Don tried to keep his erection contained.

“More,” Don whined.

“Just let go Donnie,” Raph whispered in his ear.

Don let himself drop down into Raph’s waiting hands with a sigh. Raph couldn’t help his hungry stare when he saw his brother’s dick for the first time. They had felt each other up before but it was their first time going this far and Don was certainly well endowed. Giving a gentle squeeze, Raph began to move his hand back and forth while continuing to feel every bit of skin that he could with his other hand.

Don couldn’t help but wiggle at the feel of someone else’s hand on his length besides his own. It was an amazing feeling that sent a jolt of pleasure throughout his entire body.

As Don continued to wiggle against his lap, Raph couldn’t hold himself back any more and dropped down. When Don felt the pressure of Raph’s cock touching his backside he reached around and began stroking Raph the same way that he was being stroked.

It wasn’t long before the combined sensations of being touched by the other as well as the vibrations from the motorcycle brought them both to completion. As their breathing slowed back down to normal, Raph reached around Don and turned the bike off.

“Your were so hot Donnie,” Raph said as he licked a bead of sweat off of Don’s neck causing him to shudder again.

“Don’t sell yourself too sort Raph. You were pretty hot yourself,” Don complimented.

“Where do you keep your towels around here,” asked Raph. “We need to get cleaned up before we head back to the lair.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Don sighed. With reluctance he pulled away from Raph’s warm embrace and grabbed two towels to clean themselves off with.

After wiping themselves down and throwing the dirty towels into the bin they waited for the elevator to reach them. Turning to face Raph, Don leaned against him and whispered, “If that’s the reward I get for fixing your bike than you need to break it more often.”

“I’ll see what I can manage,” Raph said as he leaned the rest of the way to claim Don’s lips in one final kiss.


	24. Catching his Interest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 24th - Books

Raph stretched out lazily on the couch as the evening news came to an end. It had been a productive day overall. He had gotten up early that morning and noticed a bucket of water above his door before it tipped down on him. With all the stealthiness that came from years of ninja training, he was able to take down the bucket and set it back up outside Mikey’s door before he got up. He felt very satisfied later at breakfast hearing Mikey’s loud yell as he got doused with cold water coming out of his room.

Practice had even been more than tolerable today. He and Leo sparred first and Raph managed to come out the victor of the match, even if it was a close call. He had also been paired up with Don for most of his sparring matches and managed to pin him a few times, which brought back delicious memories of last night. Judging by the blush that had appeared on Don’s face, he felt the same.

With the news having ended Mikey plugged in his video game and started getting it set up. “Come on Leo. You promised that you would stay up and play video games with me if you lost the match to Raph today,” Mikey said with a wide grin.

“I never promised that Mikey,” Leo told him. “You were the one sitting on the sidelines that made that bet. I never agreed to it.” Despite his protest, Leo couldn’t resist the look Mikey gave him and slid over and took the second controller.

Standing up and stretching, Raph announced to his brothers, “As much as I’d like to stay and watch Leo get his butt handed to him again, I’m heading to bed.”

“Night,” his brothers echoed.

Walking down the hallway towards his room, Raph noticed light coming from under the door to Don’s room. Raph decided that he would stop in and check on his younger brother and partner. Pushing the door open Raph stuck his head inside and knocked softly so he wouldn’t startle Don.

Hearing the knock Don looked up from the book he was reading and smiled when he saw who was standing there. “Come in Raph,” Don said, marking his place in the book and setting it aside on the table next to his bed. Sliding over Don patted the space he had made, indicating for Raph to come and sit.

“Hey Don,” said Raph, taking the seat offered to him. “I was just heading to bed and saw your light on. What are you up to?”

“I was just reading about website creation,” Don told him. “I figured that if I was going to start selling things online for a job then I should have my own site instead of having to go through a middleman like eBay.”

Looking at the book sitting on the bedside table, Raph’s eyes were drawn to the shelves against the wall that were overflowing with books of every subject. “I don’t know how you read this much Donnie,” Raph said with a low whistle. “I don’t think I could make it through one chapter in most of those books before I got bored.”

Following Raph’s gaze Don also looked over the shelves. “Well maybe that’s because you’re just not reading the right kind of book for you,” Don pondered. Moving to the end of his bed, he reached for one of the books on the shelf. Grabbing a book off of the shelf Don slid back next to Raph and handed it to him.

“I think you might like this one,” Don said tapping the cover, The Lord of the Rings. “It’s about a hobbit that needs to destroy a magic ring in order to stop evil from taking over the world. It has plenty of battles that should keep even you interested.”

Raph raised on of his eyebrows at eh description of the book. “I guess that sounds interesting,” Raph conceded. “I can give it a try.”

“I’m sure you’ll like it,” said Don with a light kiss to Raph’s jaw. “When you’re done reading the books we could watch the movies together.”

“That’s sounds like a great idea Donnie,” Raph told him standing up from the bed. “I’m gonna head off to bed.”

Before he left the room, Raph leaned down and gave Don a deep kiss. “Love you Donnie-boy.”  
“Love you too Raphie,” Don whispered.


	25. First Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 25th - Argument

The night was clear and calm as Don and Raph jumped across the rooftops during their nightly patrol. They had split up with Leo and Mikey a few minutes ago after listening to Mikey whine about wanting to be paired up with Leo. Leo had looked to Raph and Don for their thoughts on the matter. Seeing their approval Leo had agreed to Mikey’s request sending Raph and Don north while he and Mikey headed south.

After running for a while they both came to a rest on a rooftop near the docks and looked out over the harbor. After a few moments of silence and just enjoying each other’s company Raph heaved a sigh and turned to face Don.

“I need to talk to ya about something Don,” Raph said. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately.”

“Well that would explain the beads of sweat on your forehead,” Don joked.

“Hardy har, har,” Raph laughed turning back to face the harbor. “I was just thinking about the possibility of telling the others about us.”

Hearing no response Raph looked over at Don and saw how tense he was. “What’s wrong Donnie?”

“I’m just not sure that now is a good time for us to tell the others,” Don said carefully. “We’ve only been together for just over three weeks. That’s not a lot of time if you really think about it.”

“It may not have been a lot of time that we’ve been together but it’s not like we just met three weeks ago. We’ve lived together our entire lives,” Raph pointed out, beginning to feel annoyed.  
“I know we have,” Don said refusing to look Raph in the eye.

“Then what are you so afraid of?” asked Raph hotly.

Don spun around to face Raph, fear shining clearly in his eyes “What if they don’t accept us? What if they make us leave? What if they tell us we can’t be together anymore? I don’t think I could stand losing you,” Don said desperately.

“They’re our family,” Raph tried to reassure him. “They ain’t gonna turn us away.”

“You don’t know that,” Don insisted. “Master Splinter comes from a very traditional background. Humans from this country, which isn’t as rigid in its beliefs as Japan was when Master Splinter grew up there, have a very hard time accepting homosexuality. What are the chances of Master Splinter being able to? And you just know that Leo will follow Splinter’s lead.”

“I don’t care what the others think,” Raph declared. “Sure I would love to have their approval but I ain’t gonna leave you if I don’t get it. I ain’t ashamed of you and I ain’t ashamed of us.”  
“I’m not ashamed of you either,” Don tried to assure. “I’m just not ready to tell the others about us.”

“Really, because it sure sounds like your ashamed for the others to know that a genius like you is with a Neanderthal, hothead like me,” Raph all but snarled.

Don stepped back in shock as though he had been slapped. Once he regained his footing he pursed his lips tight and his eyes hardened. “If that’s what you really think of me than I believe that this discussion is over.” Turning on his heel, Don jumped to the next roof and started running without looking back.

Raph watched Don run for a moment before turning and slamming his fist into the side of the wall in anger. The night no longer seemed very calm and it felt like it had just gotten a little bit darker and colder.


	26. Cold Shoulder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 26th - Separation

The morning dawned as cold and bleak for certain members of the Hamato family as it had ended the previous night. While they still had to practice together, Raph and Don gave it their best effort to avoid one another as much as they possibly could. When practice ended they parted ways as quickly as possible, Don to his lab and Raph to grab a late breakfast.

This separation continued on for the rest of the day. Whenever one of them entered a room the other was in they would either turn around and walk back out or the other would get up and leave. This peculiar behavior did not go unnoticed by the rest of their family and it did not sit well with them.

“Dude. What’s up with the two of them?” Mikey asked Leo as they sat together in the living room.

“I honestly have no idea Mikey,” answered Leo. “They were both fine when they left on patrol last night and now it’s like they can’t stand the sight of one another.”

“Well we’ve got to do something,” Mikey insisted. “They’re bringing the whole lair down with their sour moods.”

“You’re right,” Leo said as he stood up from the couch. “I’ll go talk to Raph and you see if you can find out anything with Donnie.”

Before he could get very far, Mikey grabbed onto his arm to stop him. “Wait a minute Leo. You know that when Raph gets in one of these moods he’s got a really short temper and the last thing I need is for the two of you to get into a fight and have the three of you not talking to each other. I’ll go talk to Raph and you talk to Donnie.”

Leo chuckled at Mikey’s reasoning though he didn’t disagree with him. “Alright. You win. You go talk to the fire-breathing dragon that is Raph and I’ll see to our quiet, pacifist brother Donnie.”

“Deal,” Mikey said as he skipped over to the elevator that would take him up to the garage where his red-banded brother had taken sanctuary. 

Raph was stalking around the garage not really doing much when the elevator came up and the doors opened. Without turning around Raph called out behind him, “If you’ve come up to lecture me Leo, I ain’t interested.”

“Well than I guess it’s a good thing that I’m not Leo then, isn’t it,” Mikey said with a smile as Raph whipped around to stare at him.

Regaining his composure, Raph scowled and started pacing again. “Well I ain’t interested in listening to you either nutball.”

“Well I’m just going to talk anyway,” Mikey declared jumping up on the counter and letting his legs swing back and forth. “You know, this is kind of weird. Usually you’re mad at Leo and Don is the one coming to talk to you and calm you down. Now it’s you and Don that have something going on. What’s up with that dude?”

After waiting for a response and not receiving one Mikey continued, “The thing that makes it even stranger is the fact that the two of you have been like super close these past few weeks. Now you guys seem like you can’t even be in the same room with each other. What happened Raphie?”

“Don’t call me Raphie,” Raph told him.

A smile appeared on Mikey’s face at his ability to get Raph to finally talk to him. The smile just got wider as Raph continued to speak.

“Yeah we _were_ getting closer,” Raph said almost wistfully. “But then I screwed it up royally.”

“Oh come on. You couldn’t have messed up that bad. This is Donnie we’re talking about,” Mikey tried to reassure.

“I asked him to do something and he said no,” Raph remembered. “I should have just left it at that but I had to keep pushing. I wouldn’t let it go and now I’ve ruined everything.”

“Come on man,” Mikey said jumping down from the counter and walking over to where Raph was standing. “You know Don doesn’t hold grudges for long. Just give him some time and then apologize. I know that doesn’t really go with your tough guy act but if you messed up as much as you say you did, than Don at least deserves an apology.”

Turning around Mikey headed back down to the lair to let Raph think over what he had just said.

~

Don was sitting at his computer just staring at the screen thinking about his last conversation with Raph. _Why can’t he understand that I’m just not ready to go to that next step? I don’t like change and he knows that. I thought he meant it when he said that he was willing to wait for me. I guess that isn’t the case after all._

Don was brought out of his thoughts by the door to his lab opening. The reflection of Leo entering the room and moving to sit by Don shown on the dark monitor.

“Hey Leo,” Don said quietly.

“Hey Don. Are you doing alright?” Leo asked.

“I’m doing fine,” Don replied with a forced smile.

Seeing that caused a frown to appear on Leo’s face. “Don I know that isn’t true. You and Raph had gotten so close these past few weeks and now you’re avoiding each other. You aren’t fine.”  
Sighing Don turned back to face the computer. “You’re right like always. We just got into an argument that’s all.”

Leo reached out and gripped one of Don’s hands in his own. “I know Raph. I’ve argued with him many times,” Leo said with a faint smile. “He’ll come around after a while. Just give him some time okay?”

“Okay,” Don agreed. “Thank you Leo.” This time it was a genuine smile that graced Don’s face.

“No problem little brother,” Leo said as he left the room to give Donnie the time he needed to think over things between him and Raph.


	27. Making Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 27th - Flowers

Today the lair had been a little less tense than the previous day had been. While Don and Raph weren’t actively engaging with one another, they weren’t going out of their way to avoid each other either. Leo and Mikey viewed their talks with their brothers as successful and were waiting for them to finish making up on their own. Master Splinter remained in the background watching his sons try to work through their problems on their own knowing that he couldn’t always fix things for them.

When dinner was finished Raph got up from the table and went and got his helmet and jacket for his shell cycle. Walking back into the kitchen he told Master Splinter, “I’m going topside to visit Casey for a little while. I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour or so.”

“Very good,” Master Splinter responded. “Send our regards to Mr. Jones.”

Nodding his agreement turned and Raph turned and left the room, missing the sad look that appeared on Don’s face. Jumping on his bike and hitting the road Raph’s thoughts drifted back to what he and Don had done on his bike only a few days ago. And then I had to go and screw it up by pushing the issue, Raph thought. Don had every right to get angry with me but I’ll make it up to him. Mikey’s right, I need to apologize. Raph chuckled at that last thought. Never thought I’d see the day that Mikey would be right about something.

Pulling up to Casey’s apartment Raph looked around to make sure no one was watching him and snuck up the fire escape. As he reached out to open the window it was jerked open before he could even touch it and Casey stuck his head outside. “Took you long enough to get here Raph,” Casey said.

“If you’d move your gigantic head out of the way I’d get inside a whole lot faster,” Raph said dryly, climbing inside as soon as Casey moved out of the way. “Did you pick up what I asked when I called you earlier?”

“Yeah I did,” Casey answered. “Why exactly did you want me to pick up a bouquet of flowers?”

“I messed up with someone and I’m trying to make it up to them,” replied Raph. Seeing the flowers sitting on the counter Raph walked over and picked them up. “What kind of flowers are these again?”

“The store owner said that they’re carnations,” responded Casey. “Apparently they’re the flower of January or something like that. So what did you do to piss Don off?”

That caught Raph’s attention and he turned his head sharply to face Casey. “What makes you think I pissed off Don?” Raph asked carefully.

“You asked me to get purple flowers Raph,” Casey pointed out. “Who else could they be for? I didn’t know that Don was that into flowers though.”

“Well he’s surrounded by machines all the time. He likes to see live things every now and again,” Raph thought up quickly. “Thanks Casey for getting these for me.”

“No problem man,” Casey assured him. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Don’s temper before. It’s not a good place to be. Good luck making it up to him.”

“See you later,” Raph said as he climbed back out the window, careful not to crush the flowers.

~

Don moved around his room slowly picking things up and organizing the room. His heart was aching over the argument that he and Raph had the other night. The continuing silence between the two of them was also starting to chip away at him and his nerves were starting to fray. When his door clicked open Don nearly jumped a foot in the air from shock. Turning around he saw Raph standing there in the doorway.

“Hey Donnie,” Raph said quietly. “Do you mind if I come in and talk to ya?”

“Sure,” Don agreed hesitantly as he went and sat down at his desk chair.

Raph closed the door behind him so they wouldn’t be interrupted. Walking over to Don he held out the flowers for him to take. “These are for you,” Raph said with a slight blush. “I know you like flowers and stuff. And I know that what I said the other night was uncalled for and I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

Taking the flowers from Raph, Don just stared at them for a moment before looking up at Raph who was looking very nervous. “I love them Raph. Thank you,” Don told him. “You know you didn’t have to go to all this trouble. All I needed was for you to come and talk to me.”

“Yeah I did have to do that Don,” said Raph as he pulled over a stool to sit next to Donnie. “I was a jerk about it. If you aren’t ready to tell the others about us then we can wait until you are.”

“I guess we both did things that we regret,” Don conceded. “You shouldn’t have said what you did and I shouldn’t have run away like I did.”

“It’s just that, you’re too good to sneak around with,” Raph declared. “And I’m proud to call you my boyfriend and I just want everyone to know that. So, do you forgive me?”

“Of course I do Raph,” Don said reaching across the space to caress Raph’s cheek. “How could I not?”

Raph lifted his hand and just held Don’s against his face for a moment. Sighing, he gently pulled their hands away and started to stand up. “I guess I should go now, that way we can both get some sleep before we have to get up tomorrow morning.”

Setting the flowers down on the desk Don stood up and stopped Raph. “You don’t have to leave you know. You could stay here for the night if you wanted to,” offered Don.

“What do you mean by ‘stay the night’?” Raph questioned.

“Not that. Not yet anyway,” Don said with a blush. “But we could still stay here together in my bed for the night. If you wanted too that is. If you don’t mind. I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Placing his fingertips on Don’s mouth Raph stopped him from rambling. “I would love to spend the night with you.”

Taking his fingers away, Raph replaced them with his lips. Slowly they made their way towards the bed to wrap themselves in the blankets and each other’s arms.


	28. Close Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 28th - Late

As Don slowly returned to consciousness, the first thing he realized was the fact that he felt warmer than he usually did when he woke up in the mornings. The second thing he noticed was the pair of arms wrapped around him. With this second realization, the events of the previous night came back to him: from Raph leaving the lair after dinner and him going up to his room to mope to Raph coming back with a bouquet of purple carnations and apologizing to his offer to Raph of staying the night with him.

Looking up from where his head lay on Raph’s shoulder he had a clear view of Raph’s face. It was relaxed in sleep in a way that it rarely was when he was awake. Seeing Raph so open and peaceful like that brought a smile to Don’s face as he leaned up slightly and nuzzled Raph’s cheek.

Feeling the movement, Raph’s eyes fluttered open and he stared quizzically at Don for a moment before remembering where he was. With that memory came a warmth that flooded through his system as he pulled his smaller mate farther into his embrace.

“I could really get used to waking up like this,” Raph said in his gravelly voice.

“I agree,” Don concurred, snuggling deeper into Raph’s arms with no intention of moving any time soon.

That intention was shattered however when he glanced over at the clock sitting on the table and saw what time it was. Wildly Don started trying to pull away from Raph and get out of bed. Not knowing what was going on, Raph’s first instinct was to hold Don tighter to him until he found out what the problem was.

“Hey Don. What’s the rush?” Raph asked. “You were fine just a minute ago. You okay?”

“I’m fine but we’re late,” Don responded in a mild panic. “It’s half past nine already and everyone will be up by now. We’ve got to get up before someone comes in and sees us like this.”

“Damn it,” Raph cursed as he let go of Don. “I know that I wanted to tell the others about us but this is not how I would want them to find out. How the hell did we manage to sleep this long.”

“Well you are a very comfy pillow,” Don said with a smile as they pulled on their gear and tied their masks in place.

Raph chuckled at that. “Glad that I could accommodate you.”

Once they were both ready Don cracked open the door and took a cautious step outside. Sighing in mild relief, Don opened the door wider and moved fully into the hallway. It wasn’t until he turned to head towards the stairs that he noticed Leo standing in the hallway. Don stopped quickly at the sight of Leo standing there, causing Raph to run into him from behind.

“Morning Don. You’re sure getting up late,” Leo greeted him. He then noticed Raph standing behind Don inside the genius’s room. “Hey Raph. Did you spend the night with Don?”

“Uh yeah,” Raph answered after a moment. “I came in late and needed to talk to Don about the past few days. We ended up talking for a few hours and I guess I just never made it back to my room.”

“Oh, well I’m glad that the two of you made up,” Leo said. “I’m going to go meditate with sensei so I’ll see you guys later.”

The two of them watched Leo walk down the stairs and relaxed once he was out of sight. Once he knew that Leo was out of hearing range Don let out a sigh of relief. “That was a close call. Good job covering Raph.”

“Yeah well I’ve got lots of experience getting Leo off my back about stuff. Glad that I can put it to use,” said Raph with a smirk.

“We’re going to have to be more careful in the future,” Don pointed out.

“You sure about that?” asked Raph. “We almost got caught this time. You sure you want to take that chance again?”

A smile was the only response that Raph received as Don took his hand and started pulling him towards the stairs to start the day.


	29. Interruptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 29th - Kitchen Table

Don slowly walked into the kitchen with the intention of making himself another pot of coffee. It was late, he knew that, but he was in the middle of setting up his new website and he didn’t want to leave it only half done. Bending over the counter he just stared at the pot as the coffee slowly started to drip down, one small drop at a time.

“Can’t say I mind the view,” said a voice from behind Don making him jump and spin around. Raph was standing in the doorway resting his weight against the wall. “Although, shouldn’t you be in bed by now genius?” Raph asked as he walked farther into the room and closer to Donatello.

“I could say the same thing about you considering you’re up as late as I am apparently,” Don quipped back.

“Touché,” Raph said as he sat down at the kitchen table. “So what has you up this late tonight? I thought you were all caught up with your to do list.”

“Well you remember your idea about me fixing things from the junkyard and selling them online?” Don asked. Seeing Raph’s nod he continued, “Well I decided to set up my own website, that way I have complete control over everything and it’s taking a little longer than I originally anticipated and I don’t want to leave it half done.”

Raph shook his head in mild amusement. “I suppose it makes sense to have your own site but Don, you don’t need to stay up have the night to make sure it’s perfect,” Raph said as he stood up. Reaching over he took hold of one of Don’s wrists and pulled him closer. “I know I’d much rather have you in bed at a more decent hour. Preferably right beside me.”

Seeing the look that spread across Raph’s face as he said that Don couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Don’t you think that’s just a little hypocritical of you considering how many nights you’ve spent running the street until the early morning? And don’t try telling me it wasn’t all that often. I was the one that would have to wake up to patch you up if you got hurt.”

“Oh I remember all right. I also remember you still being up all on your own half the time,” Raph said. With startling speed Raph grabbed Don around his waist and lifted him onto the table earning a surprised squeak from him. “I guess we’re just a pair of night owls. I’m betting I could find a way to turn that to our advantage.”

Nudging Don’s legs apart, Raph stepped between them and began to kiss and nip at Don’s neck. Moaning lowly Don grasped Raph’s shoulders to keep himself from falling over. “Yeah, I’m beginning to get a few ideas myself,” Don panted.

“What would you say if I took you right here Donnie-boy?” Raph asked with a wicked grin. “Right here on the kitchen table, in the middle of the night. Would you try and stop me?”

Before Don had the chance to respond, they were interrupted by the sound of a door opening upstairs. Both of them froze instantly and listened. Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs and moving towards the kitchen they both quickly pulled away from each other. Don jumped down from the table and hurried over to check on his coffee while Raph sat down in a chair trying to make it look like he had been there the entire time.

Slowly Mikey made his way into the kitchen with his eyes barely open and groped for a glass on the counter. After filling the glass at the sink and taking a sip he noticed that he wasn’t alone in the kitchen. “What are you two still doing up?” Mikey asked rubbing one of his eyes.

“Well I just got done in the dojo and genius here was up playing with his computer,” Raph answered. “What are you doing up?”

“I was thirsty,” Mikey said holding up the now empty glass.

“You sound tired Mikey,” Don told him. “Why don’t you go back to bed and we’ll see you in the morning? We’ll head to bed soon, okay?”

“Okay,” Mikey agreed as he put his glass in the sink and turned around sleepily to head back to bed.

Raph and Don waited in silence until they heard the door to Mikey’s room close behind him. “That was a close call,” Don whispered.

“You’re telling me,” Raph agreed standing up from his spot at the table. “Come on. Let’s make good on your promise and head to bed. You can finish up your work tomorrow. I’ve got a hammock in my room with our names on it.”

“That sounds like a very good plan,” Don purred as he moved to lean against Raph to regain the contact he had lost when Mikey came downstairs. “We’ll just need to remember to set an alarm this time so what happened yesterday won’t happen again.”

Right before Don’s lips met his own, Raph pulled away and moved towards the door. “You’ve got five minutes to save your work, shut off your computer, and get upstairs before my door locks,” Raph said as he walked out of the room with a flick of his tail.

Don stood there with an open mouth for a moment before hurrying to his lab to shut everything down so he could take Raph up on his offer. It was going to be a long night.


	30. Pointless Argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 30th - Mowing the Lawn

Morning practice was over and the boys were enjoying spending some quality time together as a family in the living room. Master Splinter had claimed the TVs to watch his stories like usual but they didn’t mind too much. It was amusing to listen to the commentary that Splinter kept up on how he felt the characters on the show were behaving.

Raph and Mikey were having friendly arguments about the different characters on the show much to the amusement of their sensei. Don was sitting by Raph’s side reading a book on basic appliance repairs and nodding at appropriate moments when Raph asked for his backup. Leo was sitting slightly apart from everyone cleaning his katanas while listening to his brothers.

The current show went onto a commercial break that began advertising a brand new, fully equipped lawn mower. “This is such an odd time for a commercial like that,” Leo said. “I mean there’s still snow on the ground. Who would be mowing their lawn this time of year?”

“I think it’s a matter of practicality,” Don pointed out. “Prices will be cheaper for gardening equipment right now because it isn’t the time of year to use that kind of stuff. It’s the same principle for why prices go down for Christmas and Valentines Day stuff the day after the holiday.”

“I guess you got a point Donnie,” Raph said sitting back on the couch crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t want to buy a mower like that though. Only a wimp would get a mower like that. Who needs one that you ride on? Push mowers are better for you anyway.”

“Come one Raphie,” Mikey whined. “What’s so wrong with riding mowers? I could sit on it, program where I wanted it to mow, and play my game boy at the same time.”

“Can you get anymore lazy Mikey,” Raph grumbled. “You can take a break from your game boy every now and again you know.”

“Just because I like to play my video games doesn’t mean I’m lazy,” Mikey complained. “Besides, what’s so great about push mowers? You just get all hot and sweaty. How is that better than being comfortable on a ride-along mower that does the exact same job?”

“Because pushing a mower is a good alternative for a work out,” Raph pointed out. “The mower isn’t going to move itself. You’ve got to move it and that works both your arms and legs so it’s like two workouts in one.”

“Raph does have a point,” Leo chimed in earning slightly shocked expressions from the rest of his family. “What? We don’t always disagree on everything. He’s got a good point about the exercise. If you watch the news you see all the reports that Americans are becoming unhealthier every year and an increase in weight is part of that. If more people used push mowers instead of ride-alongs than that might help with some of that problem.”

Raph grinned smugly at Mikey. “See, even Leo agrees with me. Push lawn mowers are better.”  
“Just cause Leo says something doesn’t make it true,” Mikey pouted. “Come on Leo. You’re supposed to back me up here.” Leo just shrugged in response.

Snapping his book shut, Don rose from the couch and headed towards his lab.

“I’m going to my lab for some peace and quiet and to get away from pointless arguments,” Don said over his shoulder. “We don’t even have a lawn to mow.”

The last thing Don heard as he closed the door behind him was the sound of Master Splinter laughing at Raph and Mikey’s shocked faces.


	31. Promises Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> January 31st - Lake

Practice had just concluded for the day and the boys were stretching out before they left the dojo to do their own activities. For practice they had been split into pairs for sparring, Raph with Mikey and Don with Leo, but had to switch weapons with their partner. This put them on a relatively even playing field since even though they were all proficient in other weapons, they were masters of their own and didn't switch it up very often.

As they exited the dojo Raph headed towards the lair's entrance. "Where are you going Raph?" Leo asked when he saw his brother's destination.

"I've still got some extra energy so I'm going for a run in the sewers. You're welcome to join me if you want," Raph offered.

"No thanks," Leo politely turned him down. "Mikey offered to give me a cooking lesson so I won't be so helpless in the kitchen."

"Have fun with that," Raph said with a snort. "You want to join me Don?"

"Sure, I'd love to," Don responded.

"Have fun," Mikey called as he pulled Leo into the kitchen.

As soon as the door closed behind them they both broke into a jog, heading deeper into the sewers. "Do you have any particular destination in mind Raph or are we just going to run in circles?" Don questioned while keeping pace easily with Raph's long strides.

"I just figured that I would follow my feet and see where they take me," answered Raph as he sped up a bit trying to see just how far he could push Don before he started to tire.

Raph found his answer to that question half an hour later when they both started slowing down as they reached a cavern deep in a part of the sewers that they didn't visit very often. In the middle of the cavern was a large, dark lake.

"Wow, this place is huge," Don said in amazement. "I've lived in these sewers for my whole life and I never knew this was here."

"Me neither. You know, this place kind of reminds me of a scene from that book you let me borrow," Raph said. "You know, the part when they are trying to get into the dwarf mines."

Don nodded in agreement. "The Mines of Moria. I remember that part. At least this lake doesn't have a monster lurking in it like the one in the book did."

"How do you know that Donnie?" Raph asked with a teasing smile.

"Raph, you can't honestly believe that there are monsters hiding down here in the sewers," Don said incredulously.

"Stranger things have happened," Raph pointed out as he picked up a stone and skipped it across the surface of the water. "Most people would say that there are no such things as mutated turtles living in the sewers either. Even we don't know about everything that lives down here. I mean we had no idea that Leatherhead lived in our old lair until Mikey ran into him in one of the tunnels, remember."

Don laughed at that response. "I guess you have a point. Would you protect me from the scary monster that you instigated by disturbing the water?" Don teased.

Raph pulled Don close to him until their foreheads were touching. "I'll always protect you Donatello," Raph promised. "Just like I know that you've always got my back too."

"Always," Don said before sealing the promise with a kiss.


	32. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 1st - Sex

Pushing back from the dinner table Don picked up his plate and moved towards the sink. “That was delicious Mikey,” Don complimented. “My regards to the chef.”

“Thanks Don,” Mikey responded. “It was a new recipe that I’ve been dying to try for a while. I’m glad that you liked it. But you know what that means. Since I cooked, you get to clean up.”

Don just shook his head and smiled. “Fair enough Mikey. You deserve to take a break from the kitchen.”

“You got that right,” Mikey said as he brought his plate over to the sink for Donnie to wash. “Leo, I’m going topside to pick up a new comic and maybe stop at the new gelato shop on the street. Do you want to come with me?”

“I’d love to go with you,” Leo told him. “That is if you don’t mind sensei.”

“I have no objections as long as you don’t draw attention to yourselves. I am going over to Miss O’Neil’s tonight. She has recently acquired a few seasons of my favorite stories and she has invited me over to watch them with her,” Master Splinter informed his sons.

As his brothers and father put on their human disguises Raph walked over to the sink to help Donnie with the dishes. They worked for a while in silence just enjoying the other’s company. Every now and again their hands would meet as Don passed as dish he had just washed to Raph for him to dry.

Raph didn’t know why but every time his hand met Don’s he felt a thrill of pleasure shoot through his entire body. Putting the last plate away Raph watched as Don emptied the sink and rinsed out the remaining soapsuds. Every move he made seemed so precise and flawless that Raph felt heat beginning to pool in his lower plastron.

Raph walked up behind Don and wrapped his arms around him. His hands slid up and down Don’s plastron leaving behind wet trails from the water that he hadn’t dried off yet. Leaning forward he nuzzled at Don’s neck as Don sighed and rested back into Raph’s embrace.

“You know Brainiac,” Raph said in a low husky voice. “They others are going to be gone for a while and we’ve got the whole lair to ourselves. What do you say we put that time to use?”

“What did you have in mind?” Don asked a little breathlessly as Raph’s hands began to trace along the bottom lip of his plastron where it met flesh.

Hearing the quiet moans coming from Don just heated Raph’s blood even more. “Come upstairs with me,” Raph whispered hoarsely. “I want you Donnie. Let me show you how much I love you.”

Turning around Don smashed his lips against Raph’s with a bruising force. They finally pulled apart when the need to breath became too much. “Let’s go to my room,” Don offered. Before Raph could protest he continued, “My bed would be more practical than your hammock. Besides, I have lube in my room and I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

Raph nearly pulled Don off his feet as he began tugging him towards the stairs. As soon as they got through the doorway to Don’s room the door was closed and locked behind them out of habit. Stumbling, they made their way over to the bed with their lips and hands still roaming over each other the entire time. Don backed up pulling Rap along with him until he felt the back of his knees hit the bed. Lying down onto his carapace he pulled Raph on top of him so that Raph was straddling his thighs without once losing the kiss.

Raph looked down at Don laying below him, amazed that this beautiful creature could possibly want him the same way that he wanted Don. Bringing their lips together Raph tried to pour all of his love into the kiss. When he finally pulled away he smirked seeing the dazed expression that was left on Don’s face. With a grin still plastered on his face Raph began to move down Don’s body planting kisses at each new piece of skin he came across.

Don lay back trying to catch his breath and not be dragged under the tsunami of pleasure that was threatening to overwhelm him. When Raph reached his lower plastron and ran his tongue over his slit his hips jerked up on their own.

“Raph,” Don moaned.

“Like that Donnie-boy?” asked Raph with a cocky grin.

Raph moved his mouth lower and took Don’s tail into his mouth and began lightly sucking on it. Looking up he saw Don’s cock begin to peek out of his slit as he pulled his mouth back and nipped at the tip of his tail before letting it go.

“Come on Don. Drop down,” Raph urged as he lightly ran his fingertips over the slit.

With a rolling churr Don dropped down into Raph’s waiting hands. “Raph please,” Don panted. “Please stop teasing. I need you now.” Don began to run his hands over any part of Raph that he could reach in an attempt to urge him onwards.

All the teasing that he had been doing was starting to get to Raph as well and he was having a hard time holding back from just taking Don as his own. “Where’s your lube?” Raph asked. “I ain’t doing this without prepping you first.”

Don rolled onto his side as started grabbing desperately at drawer to his bedside table. With a cry of triumph he pulled the lube out and handed it to Raph.

Taking the bottle Raph moved back down and spread Don’s legs farther apart to give himself more room to work. “This bottle’s been opened already. You do this kind of thing before Don,” Raph teased as his squired some of the liquid on his fingers and began to tease at Don’s opening.

“I thought it would be good practice since I assumed that you would want to top first,” Don moaned as Raph pushed the tip of his finger inside Don’s body.

“Only you Donnie,” Raph smiled.

Carefully he pushed his finger a little farther in, twisting it to stretch Don for what was coming. Raph watched Don’s face to make sure that his wasn’t going too fast and causing Don any pain. “You okay?” Raph asked as he pulled back to put more lube on his finger.

“I’m fine,” Don whispered. “Just keep going. I’ll tell you if you need to stop.”

Raph nodded as he pushed his finger in again, this time all the way in. Seeing Don’s face scrunch up a bit Raph moved his head up and licked at the bead of pre-cum that was glistening on the tip of Don’s cock. Don whimpered as his hips jerked up again. “More,” he begged.

Raph smiled at the reaction he received and began to suck on the end of Don’s length as he added a second finger. Slowly he began to scissor his fingers so there would be no pain when he entered him with something bigger. Determining that Don was as stretched as he was going to get he removed his fingers and lifted his head from Don’s cock with one last slurp. Raph chuckled at Don’s whine at the loss of contact. 

Stubbornly Don grabbed the bottle of lube before Raph had a chance. Squeezing some of the lube into his hands he smiled up at Raph. “Let me return the favor,” Don said huskily, rubbing against the bulge at the bottom of Raph’s plastron.

With a groan Raph dropped into Don’s skillful hands. Raph grasped the sheets on either side of Don’s head and took a shuddering breath trying to keep his reaction to Don’s clever hands under control.

Using one hand Raph gripped Don’s wrists and pulled them away from his member. “If you keep that up Don I ain’t gonna last much longer,” Raph groaned.

Don smirked as he lay back down and looked up at Raph with complete trust in his eyes. Raph felt humbled by Don’s trust as he slowly lined his dick up with his stretched opening and carefully began to slide in. Once he was fully sheathed he held still and gave Don a chance to get used to the feeling of Raph being inside of him.

Don groaned at the feeling of being filled in such a way by Raph. It was slightly painful but that faded quickly as Raph began to shallowly thrust in and out of his ass. Don wrapped his legs around Raph in order to signal that he wanted more and to urge him onward. Raph took the hint and started thrusting faster. Bracing himself on his knees, Raph used one hand to grasp Don’s dick and pump it in time with his thrusting into Don and used the other hand to tip Don’s hips up and change the angle.

Don gasped as the change in angle caused Raph to hit a bundle of nerves inside Don. Jerking his hips up, Don moved in time with Raph as their churrs flowed together. Unable to hold back any longer Raph started thrusting in earnest and picked up the pace on jerking Don off.

“So close,” Don panted. “I’m so close Raphie.”

“Just let go Donnie-boy,” Raph told him. “Cum for me.”

Throwing his head back Don climaxed hard with Raph’s name on his lips. Feeling Don’s inner walls clamp down on him Raph followed right behind, filling Don with his warmth and marking him as his own.

Once Raph had caught his breath he started to pull out of Don but was stopped when the legs around his waist tightened around him. “Wait,” Don said. “I just want to feel you for a little bit longer.”

Nodding his agreement Raph settled onto his elbows above Don and stared down on his flushed face. “You were incredible Donnie-boy,” Raph whispered in amazement. “So perfect.”

“You were pretty good yourself,” Don said returning the compliment.

Don finally relaxed his legs and Raph pulled out of him. Laying down beside him, Raph pulled Don into his arms and held him close. Tucking him head underneath Raph’s chin Don let himself relax and start to fall off towards dreamland.

“Really love you Raphie,” Don yawned.

“Love you too Brainiac,” Raph said with a kiss to Don’s temple. “Always.”


	33. Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 2nd - Moonlight

Don woke to the feeling of a hand gently drawing patterns along the length of his arm. A smile formed on his face as the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. Turning his head he placed a soft kiss on the shoulder that was currently acting as his pillow.

“How long have you been awake?” Don asked still slightly groggy.

“Not very long,” Raph said tilting his head down and capturing Don’s lips in a slow kiss. “How do you feel this morning? You aren’t in any pain are you?”

“No,” Don assured as he snuggled closer to Raph. “I am a little sore but it’s more of a nice reminder of what happened than actual pain.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Raph said hugging Don close.

Unexpectedly music began playing from Don’s alarm clock. It was a soothing melody being played on a piano. Pulling back a bit Raph turned and stared at the clock.

“What song is that Donnie? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before,” Raph asked.

“It’s Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven,” Don answered as he relaxed into Raph’s hold as the music flowed over him. “I set my clock so that it would play this when the alarm goes off instead of that annoying beeping sound. I hate waking up to that.”

Reluctantly Raph let go of Don and moved so that they could both sit up. “We should probably get up now if we don’t want the others coming in here and seeing us like this.”

“I guess you’ve got a point,” Don sighed. Stretching, Don enjoyed the delicious ache that travelled throughout his lower body. He would be feeling that for the rest of the day but that thought didn’t seem to bother him too much.

Together they gathered up their gear that had been carelessly discarded the night before in their haste to reach the bed. Before Don had a chance to grab his mask it was already in Raph’s hands. Raph motioned for him to turn around and with a small blush Don complied. Stepping up behind him, Raph tied the mask around Don’s head securely and deposited a small kiss on his shoulder before stepping away.

“I’m going to run to the bathroom so they don’t get suspicious at seeing us both come down together,” Raph informed Don as he walked out of the room.

Shaking his head in amusement Don grabbed his Bo and made his way down to the kitchen where the rest of his family was seated eating breakfast.

“Morning Donnie,” Mikey called as he walked into the room. “You sure slept late today.”

“Yeah I guess I was just tired last night,” Don said with a grin as he poured himself his morning cup of coffee.

“I’m not surprised,” Raph said as he walked into the room. “We stayed up kind of late sparring.” The whole time he said this his eyes never left Donnie’s and a grin stayed plastered on his face.

The morning was a test of stealth as Raph and Don sent covert looks to each other throughout breakfast and tried to play footsy with each other under the table without anyone noticing. As breakfast drew to a close everyone put their dishes in the sink and started making their way towards the dojo for morning practice. On their way there Leo touched Don’s arm to get his attention.

“Are you alright Don?” Leo asked. “You’re walking kind of strange.”

Don had to work hard to keep the blush off of his face as he answered, “Yeah I’m fine. I just think I pulled a muscle when Raph and I were practicing last night though.”

“Are you sure that you’ll be okay for practice today?” Leo asked. “Did you not stretch properly before exercising that hard last night?”

Don choked a bit at Leo’s question and Raph had to smoother his laughter. “Yeah I’m fine,” Don assured. “I don’t think that it was a matter of not stretching enough though. Let’s just start practice. I have some things I need to get done today.”

As Don hurried into the dojo he whispered to Raph as he passed by him, “You so owe me for that.”


	34. Tease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 3rd - Naked

After morning practice was over Don retreated up to the garage to give the Battle Shell its monthly overhaul to make sure that everything was in working order. If experience had taught the Hamato family anything it was that you left Don alone while he worked on an overhaul unless he specifically asked for help. If one did have to interrupt Don, it had to be done with extreme caution and usually during a mealtime while delivering food.

This was exactly the tactic that Raph was using in order to spend some uninterrupted alone time with his mate during the day without fear of anyone walking in on them. As Raph walked into the garage he heard the music that Don was blasting out of the speakers of the radio that was sitting on his work bench. Don loved having the music turned up loud when he worked on the Battle Shell. He claimed that he was better able to let himself drown under the sound of the music and block out the rest of the world while he worked.

Raph first made his way over to the radio and turned the volume down so he wouldn’t startle Don with his unexpected presence. As the music went lower Don looked up from where he was checking underneath the hood of the van.

“Raph what are you doing up here? You guys all know that I like working alone when I’m checking out the van,” Don asked slightly annoyed.

“I was bringing you your lunch Donnie,” Raph informed him. “I know you get caught up in your projects and all but you’ve still got to eat.”

“Just set it on the bench and I’ll eat it in a little while,” Don said almost dismissively. “I’ll see you in a few hours when I come back down to the lair.”

Raph set the plate down dejectedly now that he wasn’t going to get the alone time he was hoping for, turned the music back up, and was about to head back down to the lair when he got an idea. A smile formed on Raph’s face as he looked over at Don who was currently bent over the hood of the Battle Shell. This put him in a position with his ass titled up in the air and gave Raph a clear view of Don’s wiggling tail. Slowly Raph walked over to where Don was and didn’t stop until he was pressed right up against Don’s backside causing Don to startle.

Don gasped, “Raph what are you…”

“Hush,” Raph said. Slowly he moved his hands to the front of Don’s plastron and started running his fingers up and the centerline. Raph slipped one of his knees between Don’s legs and pressed it up until it was pressed against his slit. Hearing Don let out a low moan, Raph let out a chuckle.

“Hey Donnie, have you ever really thought about the fact that walk around practically naked all day long,” Raph growled lowly. “It’s not like our belts cover very much. I could just take you right now and it wouldn’t be very difficult. I mean you even got this gooey stuff here that I could use for lube. Would you like that Don? Hmm. Would you like to feel my hard dick pounding in and out of you?”

“Yes, Raphie please,” Don moaned.

Leaning down, Raph nipped at Don’s neck before pulling away. “But I forgot,” Raph said with an almost evil smirk. “You don’t like to be bothered when you’re working on the Battle Shell. I’ll see you when you come back down to the lair in a few hours.”

With that, Raph turned around and walked back to the elevator that would take him back down to the lair. Behind him Don was left panting against the Battle Shell with a shocked expression on his face. Raph knew that he would pay for that stunt later but right now he couldn’t help but smile at how easily he was able to get Don all worked up.


	35. Tangled Web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 4th - Deception

Leo and Master Splinter were sitting at the kitchen table drinking their morning cup of tea when Don walked into the room. Making his way over to the coffee pot Don turned it on and nearly skipped over to the table to sit with his family while he waited for his coffee to brew.

“You seem to be in a good mood this morning Donnie,” Leo commented. “Not to mention that you’re up earlier than you normally are on a Saturday.”

“I guess I just slept well last night,” Don said back with a grin. “I got in a bit of a workout before I went to bed and I guess it just knocked me out afterwards.”

Don could barely keep the smile off of his face as the coffee pot beeped at him that his coffee was ready. As Don made his way back to the table Mikey came bouncing into the kitchen as bright as always even on a weekend morning.

“Good morning my son,” Master Splinter greeted. “You seem to be in lively spirits this morning.”

“Yeah there’s a new episode of Justice Force on in half an hour and I’ve been dying to see it,” Mikey told him as he rushed around the kitchen to get his breakfast ready. “Anyone else want an omelet?” Mikey asked as he cracked the first egg.

“That sounds great Mikey,” Don answered while the other two nodded in agreement.

“Raph better hurry down if he wants one of the omelets before they’re all gone,” Leo said.

“I don’t think Raphie will be coming down any time soon,” Mikey laughed. “When I walked by his room he was snoring loud enough to shake the walls. I’m thinking he had a long night topside.”

Leo shook his head in annoyance. “He knows better than to go topside without telling anyone. I’ll talk to him when he gets up.”

“No Leonardo. I will speak to him,” Master Splinter announced.

They all missed Don’s slightly worried gaze directed towards their bedrooms. He had only meant to pay Raph back for his teasing yesterday. He hadn’t meant for him to get in any trouble.

~

Around lunchtime Raph finally stumbled downstairs in search of food. When he made his way into the kitchen he saw Master Splinter sitting in one of the chairs looking like he was waiting for him.

“My son, please take a seat,” Master Splinter ordered. “We have something we need to discuss. For the past two days you have been abnormally tired during the day. Today you did not rise until noon. While weekend mornings are yours to do with as you please, this is not a normal occurrence for you. Tell me, have you been going topside without letting anyone know?”

“No Master Splinter,” Raph said as he took a seat across the table from his father. “I just haven’t been able to get to sleep at night so I’ve been tired and sleeping late in the morning but I haven’t been going topside.”

Splinter paused for a moment watching his son carefully to try and tell if he was lying. “Very well then. It would reassure me if you would have your brother take a look at you to make sure your health is all right and that there is nothing wrong.”

“No problem sensei,” Raph said as he made his way out of the kitchen and over to the lab where he knew his mate would be.

As soon as the door open and Don saw who was standing there he jumped up and went to Raph murmuring apologies. “Raph I am so sorry. I never meant for you to get into any trouble. I was just trying to pay you back for teasing me yesterday and then leaving without finishing what you started.”

Raph put his hand over Don’s mouth to keep him for talking. “Don, it’s all right. I ain’t in trouble. I told Master Splinter that I haven’t been sleeping at night and that’s why I’ve been tired and sleeping in lately. It ain’t a lie exactly. Not when you keep me up half the night sucking any sense I have out through my dick.”

Don blushed at Raph’s crude description of what had happened last night after everyone went to bed. “It’s both of our faults I guess,” Don sighed, leaning into Raph as his arms encircled him.

“What do you mean Donnie?” Raph asked.

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive’?” Don questioned him. Seeing Raph shake his head no he continued, “It means that once you first deceive someone you have to keep making up more deceptions to cover up for that first one.”

“We have been deceiving them I guess,” Raph admitted. “We’ll tell them eventually but not before you’re ready okay?”

“Yeah,” Don agreed. Looking up at Raph with his own smirk Don told him, “I guess we’ll just have to be more careful with our late night activities and make sure you go to bed at a decent hour. After all, you aren’t use to staying up as late as I am.”

“Oh I’m sure that I could learn how,” Raph said before claiming Don’s lips in a deep kiss.


	36. False Hope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 5th - Lies

The sun had just fallen below the horizon and darkness was settling over the city casting long shadows that were perfect for ninjas to hide in. Silently four shadows slipped up the fire escape to an apartment located above an antique shop. Before the lead shadow had a chance to even touch the window in front of him it was jerked open by the occupant of the apartment.

“Hey guys,” April said to her four terrapin friends. “You’re right on time. I just got the popcorn out of the microwave and the pizza was just delivered.”

“Hey April. Thanks for inviting us over for a movie night,” Don said to her as they climbed in through the window.

“It’s no problem. You know I love having you guys over,” April assured them. 

Once they were all inside Raph, Don, and Mikey made their way over to the living room while Leo helped April bring the popcorn and drinks into the living room.

“What movie did you bring with you Donnie?” April asked.

“The first Lord of the Rings movie,” Don answered with a smile thrown in Raph’s direction.

“Don’s the only one of us that’s ever watched it but it was his turn to pick the movie and he promised that we’d all like it,” Leo told April as he set the drinks down on the table and found his own seat.

Don put the movie in as everyone took their seats and then hurried back to his spot next to Raph. With April sitting on the couch with them they were sitting closer together then they would have been if they were alone. This gave them the perfect excuse to sit close enough that their thighs touched without drawing any unwanted attention to themselves.

Two and a half hours later the movie ended and the boys got ready to head back to the lair. “Thanks again for having us over April,” Leo told her as they were climbing out of the window.

“Leo there’s really no need to thank me. I love having you over. You know my home is always open to you,” April reminded them as she waved goodbye.

Once they arrived back home Don headed to his lab to pick up a few things before heading off to bed. Raph followed along behind him to talk about the movie.

“So what did you think of it?” Don asked.

“Well I liked it better than the book,” Raph responded. “The book had too much description for my taste. I liked the action in the movie way better.”

Don smiled at Raph’s assessment. “I thought you might.”

Before either could say anything else there was a soft knock at the door and Mikey was peeking his head inside.

“Hey Don, I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes,” Mikey said somewhat shyly.

Raph stretched as he walked towards to now open door. “Not a problem. I was just getting ready to head off to bed. Goodnight Don, Mikey.”

Don settled himself in his computer chair and motioned for Mikey to take a seat on the stool that he kept in the room for visitors. “What can I do for you Mikey?”

“Well we were watching that movie tonight and parts of it got me thinking and you’re so smart that I thought you might be able to answer a question I had,” Mikey rambled for a minute. “Do you think we’ll ever find someone to love us? I mean that main human character fights and kills bad people and works alone and stuff so he’s kind of like us and he has that beautiful girlfriend. Do you think we’ll ever have something like that?”

The hopeful look on Mikey’s face nearly melted Don’s heart. Thinking foe a moment he answered carefully, “I don’t know. I mean that’s a movie so of course he’s going to get the girl but it’s a little more complicated for us.” Seeing Mikey’s face start to fall at that assessment Don hurried to say, “But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The person who’s just right for you may be out there this very moment and you just haven’t met them yet.”

“What if I have met them and they don’t even know I exist. At least not that way,” Mikey muttered that last part too low for Don to catch.

“Mikey, you are so kind and caring. Anyone would be lucky to have you love them,” Don told him with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. I mean who wouldn’t love to be with the Battle Nexus Champion?” Mikey bragged brightening up a bit. “I’m gonna hit the hay. See you at practice tomorrow Don.”

As Don watched his little brother leave his lab he thought about what he and Raph had together. They were so lucky to have found each other. Don honestly didn’t know what he would do without Raph at this point and he really wanted the same for his other brothers. He just hoped he wasn’t lying to Mikey and giving him false hope.


	37. Matchmaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 6th - Disgrace

Don was in the kitchen making lunch for the family. He had spent most of the morning after practice working in his lab putting items up on his website and fixing up a few more that would be added in a few more days. He had already connected his personal site to other major online auctions sites such as eBay and made it so that no one could trace the location.

Feeling that he had successfully set everything up that he needed to he decided that he deserved a break from working on this new project and what better way to do so than to nibble on some food while preparing lunch. Don had settled on making caprese. Caprese being a baked baguette with olive oil, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese was not only easy to make was very tasty as well.

As Don put the caprese into the oven to heat up an emerald arm sneaked around his side and snagged a slice on tomato off of the plate. Don closed the oven and turned around just as Raph popped the stolen tomato into his mouth.

“Whatcha making for lunch Donnie-boy?” Raph asked with a bit of a smirk on his face.

“I’m making caprese,” Don answered as he smacked the hand that was trying to slip by him a second time. “And if you keep eating the stuff I’ve prepped than there won’t be anything left for me to make lunch with.”

“I could be persuaded to stop if there was something else that I could nibble on,” Raph said with a slightly lecherous look before claiming Don’s lips in a quick kiss.

Don pushed Raph back with a playful shove. “Not in the kitchen Raph. The others might come in and catch us.”

“Fine, but I still get to watch you work then,” Raph declared as he made his way over to take a seat at the table.

Don shook his head as he continued to move around the kitchen making sure that everything would be ready when the caprese came out of the oven. The entire time he could feel Raph’s eyes on him, caressing him in every movement he made.

“Raph I have a question for you,” Don said just as the stove timer went off. “Have you noticed anything different about Mikey lately?”

“Not really, why?” Raph answered with a puzzled expression.

Don set the food on top of the stove to cool down a bit and joined Raph at the table. “Well last night when he came to talk to me he asked me a strange question. He asked if I thought any of us would ever find someone to love us. I know that I have you and obviously you have me but what about Mikey and Leo. Who do they have?”

“I guess I never really thought about that before,” Raph answered quietly.

“Maybe,” Don said slowly. “Maybe we could try and see if we could get them together. I mean, we would have to be subtle about it. I don’t even know if either of them are gay so that could be a problem.”

“Don,” Raph said, grabbing his hand for attention. “Stop. I know you want to help our brothers, but this isn’t something we can interfere in.”

“But,” Don began.

“No,” interrupted Raph. “No buts. If they’re gonna be together it’s gonna have to be because they want it and not because we set them up for it.”

Raph reached out and held Don’s chin in his hand. “Besides, can you imagine how disgraced Leo would act if he knew being with Mikey was our idea and not something he came up with all on his own?” Raph asked trying to cheer Don up and earning a small smile.

“I guess you’re right,” Don sighed. “I just hate seeing Mikey so sad. I just wish there was something we could do to help him.”

“I know Donnie,” Raph said as he slid his chair over so he could wrap his arms around him. “We’ll figure something out together. Just remember, they’re never going to be alone because we’re all always going to be there for each other.”


	38. A Little Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 7th - Work

Dinner had just finished and the dishes were put in the sink to be dealt with later. Master Splinter excused himself to retreat to his room for his evening meditation session leaving the boys alone in the kitchen. As they were getting ready to leave the kitchen to go and do their own thing Leo stopped them for a moment.

“Don’t forget that we have evening patrol in half an hour,” Leo reminded them before letting them go.

Leo went into the living room to catch the end of the news in order to best plan their patrol route for the night. Mikey followed behind him and leaned over the back of the couch with his eyes glued to the TV. Raph made his way to the dojo to get in a few rounds with his punching bag with Don joining him with the plans of doing a few katas while keeping him company.

Pretty soon the thirty minutes were up and they gathered together again ready to head out and patrol the city they called their own. As he headed out the door Don made sure to grab his duffle bag to bring with him. He had hopes that they may be able to stop at the junkyard for him to pick up a few new things to work on.

With the weather slowly becoming milder they were able to run across the rooftops with thinner human clothes that didn’t hamper their movements as much. Patrol had been a successful endeavor that night. In the span of a few hours they had stopped a potential rape, three muggings, and a small group of purple dragons trying to break into a jewelry shop while sustaining only a few minor scratches themselves.

Standing up from his crouched over position on the roof looking down at the street Leo turned to his brothers. “I think we can call it a night for now and head back to the lair.”

“Actually Leo,” Don spoke up. “I was hoping that we could hit the junkyard before going home. A few of the things on my website have sold so I was thinking about picking up some more stuff to work on.”

“I’m fine with that. What do you guys think?” Leo asked turning to look at Raph and Mikey.

“Sure, I don’t mind a trip to the dump,” Mikey answered.

“Whatever the Brainiac wants,” agreed Raph.

When they arrived at the dump they split out but stayed within yelling distance of each other. Leo climbed to the top of a nearby pile and took a look out position while Mikey just started jumping around different piles and playing. Raph stayed close to Don, ready to life any heavy items out of his way during his search.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you Donnie, how is your work going? You seem a lot less stressed lately,” Raph pointed out.

“It’s been great,” Don answered with a big smile. “It is a lot less stressful. I’m so glad that you suggested this. It’s so much better than my old IT job.”

Don looked over to where Raph was standing and saw that e was putting a few things into a cardboard box that he had found at some point. “What are you going to do with that stuff?” Don asked him.

Raph looked down at the box and then back up at Donnie with a small blush. “Well I felt kind of bad with you being the only one having a job and everything so I thought I might be able to help out a bit,” Raph answered slowly. “I thought that maybe I could fix up some small things that way you wouldn’t have to do everything for your work by yourself.”

The bright smile that appeared on Don’s face made Raph’s embarrassment bearable. Don walked over to Raph and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you Raphie,” said Don. “I really appreciate any help that you give me. If you want I could teach you how to fix bigger things.”

“I’d like that Donnie,” Raph told him with a quick nuzzle. “Come on, let’s head home. We got enough stuff for you to play with and if we stay much longer knucklehead is going to get himself hurt.”

“Alright,” Don said with a laugh.

As they walked between the piles of junk to find their brothers Don took Raph’s hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze of gratitude. Raph didn’t let go of Don until they reached their brothers and had to.


	39. Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 8th - News

Don and Leo sat comfortably together on the couch watching the evening news. Raph was in the dojo lifting weights and Mikey was in his room working with his art supplies. Not much was happening in the news that hadn’t already been covered before in an earlier broadcast. Don was tinkering with a radio that he had found the previous night and Leo was cleaning and polishing his swords.

The news segment changed and a new broadcaster came onto the screen. Reaching for the remote Don turned the volume up to listen to the report.

“In other new, yesterday a panel of judges in the Ninth Circuit Court in California has overturned the ban on gay marriage in a two to one ruling. One judge claimed that ‘Proposition 8 serves no purpose other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.’ Supporters of Proposition 8 have said that they will try appealing the ruling and seek to be heard by the full eleven members of the court instead of just the panel of three. More news will be forthcoming soon.”

“Well good for California,” Don said as the channel went onto commercial. “Proposition 8 was idiotic to begin with.”

“You support gay marriage?” Leo asked casually.

Don set down the radio and turned to face Leo. “Yes I do. Marriage isn’t about sex. It’s about committing your life to another person for better or worse. Just because you are sexually attracted to someone of the same gender doesn’t mean that you are entitled to fewer legal rights than someone that is attracted to someone else of a different gender.”

During Don’s explanation Raph had left the dojo and was now leaning on the back of the couch listening to his brothers.

“Yeah I guess I can see your point,” Leo agreed. “I do have a question though. You seem kind of passionate about the subject. Do you feel that way because you yourself are gay?”

“Why do you ask?” Don asked carefully, noticing how tense Raph looked out of the corner of his eye and feeling the same way himself.

“Well you just seem so passionate about the subject,” Leo answered. “Not that it means anything necessarily. And you’ve never really given any indication one way or the other. I’m just curious that’s all. Either way, you’re still my brother and I will always love you not matter what.”

Both Don and Raph relaxed at Leo’s words knowing that this would make telling their family slightly easier if they were already okay with their sexual orientation. Taking a breath Don answered Leo, “Yes, I am gay and I’m really hoping that you can keep your word that you won’t treat me any differently now that you know.”

Leo grabbed Don’s wrist to get his attention. “Don relax. I meant what I said. You’re still my genius little brother. That hasn’t changed,” Leo reassured. Standing up Leo made his way towards the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. “Besides, you aren’t the only one.”

Don and Raph just stared at Leo’s retreating form with shocked faces. They had forgotten that their brother was a master ninja and knew how to keep secrets.


	40. Virus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 9th - Blue

Lunch was over and Don was getting ready to wash the dirty dishes. After filling up the sink and adding the soap he began to start attempting to scrub the stains out of the pots that Mikey had used. Normally Mikey was very good about cleaning up after himself in the kitchen but the sauce that he had made for the spaghetti was sticking and Don was having a hard time getting the pot clean.

As Don scrubbed away with the brillow pad Mikey came up behind him looking somewhat sheepishly at the mess. “Hey Donnie, sorry about the sauce. I forgot to soak the pan when I was done using it,” Mikey apologized.

“Don’t worry about,” Don told him. “A little hot water and some elbow grease and the sauce stains will come right out.”

“Okay,” Mikey smiled. “Do you mind if I use your computer while you’re washing the dishes? I got this new art tablet off the internet and I wanted to try it out. It’s supposed to make the pictures look like they’re hand drawn even though it’s digital.”

Don smiled at his little brother’s love of his art supplies and what he could make out of them. “Sure Mikey, go ahead. Just make sure that you don’t mess around with any of the things I have on the tables. Some of the parts are delicate and are hard to find.”

“Thank you Donnie!” Mikey exclaimed jumping at his brother and giving him a big hug. “I promise to be extra careful not touch any of your machine stuff.”

Don shook his head as Mikey bounded away. Going back to the dishes Don idly wondered how much he would have to repair once Hurricane Mikey was out of his lab.

When the dishes were done, Don walked by his lab and saw Mikey still inside working fervently on his computer. Deciding to leave Mikey alone and keep working Don just passed on by and joined Leo in the living room where he and Raph were sitting.

“Anything good on?” Don asked as he sat down on the couch.

“Not really,” Leo shrugged. “Raph is trying to educate me on the fine art of boxing but I don’t see the appeal. It’s just two people in a ring just trying to beat the other into unconsciousness.”

“At least it isn’t wrestling like Casey likes to watch,” Raph told him, his eyes never leaving the screen. “Boxing ain’t all scripted out like wrestling is. You actually have to work to win and not get hurt.”

Once that match was over and another had begun Mikey came out of Don’s lab and came over to see what his brothers were doing. “Donnie, thanks for letting me borrow your computer. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” said Don. “Now that you’re off of it I think I’m going to go post the radio that I finished repairing last night onto my website.”

Don was gone for a few minutes and Mikey had settled into his vacant space on the couch and everyone was relaxing into a lazy afternoon. Suddenly yelling could be heard coming from the lab.

“NO! No, no, no, no, no!”

Spinning around three heads faced the lab where Don’s voice could be heard yelling loud enough to drown out the tv. Turning to face each other they all had the same look on their faces, don’t make me go in there.

Sighing Raph stood up. “I guess I’ll go check on him and see what’s going on.” Raph quietly walked into the lab and just stared at Don shaking his computer and furiously pounding on his keyboard.

“Donnie, what’s wrong?” Raph asked carefully as he edged into the room.

“Mikey did something to my computer and now it’s only showing me the blue screen of death,” Don nearly yelled as he continued to abuse the technology in front of him. “I don’t know what the hell he did but nothing I try to do to get rid of it is working. I am so going to kill him when I get my hands on him.”

Raph took Don’s hands away from the keyboard and moved in front of him. “Relax. It’s probably just a virus and you have everything you need backed up on at least two different servers. You’ve told me that before,” Raph said in as soothing a voice as he could manage without laughing. “Just calm down and you can fix it. I’ll even beat the little nutball for you if you want me to.”

That last response got a small smile from Don as he took a breath and tried to relax like Raph told him to. “I know it isn’t that big of a deal and that I probably didn’t lose anything. I just really hate that blue screen of death.”


	41. Payback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 10th - Computer

Raph and Leo sat together at the kitchen table eating breakfast before anyone else was up. Foot activity had been increased lately and they were discussing what to do about it. Raph was all for going topside and capturing a few of the ninjas and figuring out what they were up to. Leo on the other hand was hoping that Don would be able to hack into the Foot’s network and try to find out their plan that way.

Before Raph could argue back Don stumbled into the kitchen and went straight for the coffee pot that Raph had already started when he got up. Moving like a zombie Don filled his cup and sat down at the table taking a big gulp as he went.

“Long night Don?” Raph asked with a small smirk.

“Very,” answered Don. “I only got a few hours sleep after cleaning the virus off my computer that Mikey unleashed on it yesterday. I was lucky. I managed to save the most important programs that I was working on. I only lost a few things but I should be able to replace them in a day or two.”

“Well at least that’s some good news,” Leo said trying to cheer him up. Glancing over at Raph he continued, “Raph and I were just talking the increase in Foot activity before you came in here. I was wondering if you could hack into their database and see what’s up.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” yawned Donnie. “I need to make sure that the virus is completely gone and that all of my security systems are back up. If I do break into the Foot database I don’t want them to know that they were hacked or be able to trace it back to us if they do figure it out.”

Leo nodded in agreement at Don’s assessment and glanced over at the doorway as Mikey sleepily made his way into the kitchen. “Do you need any help getting breakfast Mikey?” Leo asked noticing that Mikey barely had his eyes open enough so that he didn’t walk into anything.

“No, I’m good,” said Mikey as he slowly pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and poured himself some cereal. Mikey gradually walked over to the table and started eating his breakfast in silence. When he was finished he looked up and saw Don sitting beside him for the first time since entering the kitchen.

“Don, were you able to get the virus off of your computer last night?” Mikey asked sheepishly.

Don stood up and went over to the counter to pour himself another cup of coffee. “Yeah I did. For a while I thought that I would have to shoot it and put it out of its misery but I finally managed to resuscitate it early this morning.”

Mikey’s face fell a bit at hearing this. “I’m really sorry Don,” Mikey apologized. “I had no idea that site would let a virus onto your computer. I would have never gone on there if I had known.”

“It’s okay Mikey,” Don told him with a gentle smile. “I know you didn’t mean to do it.”

Seeing that things were okay Leo stood from the table and started ushering them towards that dojo. “Come on guys. I’m leading practice today and I don’t want us to be late.”

As they walked towards the dojo Don stopped Leo for a moment and let the others walk ahead of them.

“Leo, do you mind if I’m paired up with Mikey today during sparring?” Don asked with an almost sinister smirk. “I still need to pay him back for getting that virus on my computer in the first place.”


	42. Apron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 11th - Cooking

Together the four brothers made their way through the sewers towards the lair. They had just been to April’s apartment, both to visit her and to get the groceries that she had picked up for them. They had been running low on some basic things like milk and meat and vegetables. Somehow though, they never seemed to run out of the junk food that Mikey liked to munch on while he played his video games or when they watched movies together as a family.

Mikey was nearly skipping as he walked through the tunnels, dodging puddles to make sure that he didn’t leave any tracks behind. “I can’t wait to get back home and start cooking dinner,” Mikey said excitedly. “April got us some steaks so that will be perfect for dinner tonight.”

“That sounds really good Mikey. I love the way that you season them,” Leo remarked with a smile.

“I agree with Leo,” Don told him. “What exactly do you do to it to make the steak taste so good?”

Turning around and walking backwards so he could face his brothers Mikey answered them, “I just season it with some basic salt and pepper but I cook it in an onion reduction to add some flavor.”

Once they reached the lair they all went to the kitchen to put their groceries away and for Mikey to start cooking the steaks. As they put the food into the fridge or into the cupboards Raph looked around in confusion. “Mikey, have you seen the brownies that April got us for dessert?” Raph asked. “They were in the bag that you were supposed to grab.”

“I thought Donnie was supposed to grab that bag,” Mikey protested.

Don shook his head. “No, I already had two bags. Besides, you called dibs on carrying the brownies home. Don’t tell me you forgot them over at April’s. She got those especially for Master Splinter for tonight.”

“Whoops,” said Mikey guiltily.

“Mikey,” Don groaned. “You do realize that means that you need to go back to April’s and get the brownies right?”

“But Donnie,” Mikey whined. “I don’t want to walk all the way back there. Besides, I need to start cooking the steaks.” Mikey hoped that would be enough of an excuse to get him out of having to walk all the way through the cold sewers again.

Raph shook his head at Mikey’s protest. “Not gonna work Mikey,” Raph told him firmly. “You forgot the dessert, you have to go pick it up. We’re perfectly capable of cooking dinner. You may be a good cook but you aren’t the only one in this family that knows how to operate in the kitchen.”

Leo grabbed Mikey’s hand and started dragging him towards the door. “Come on Mikey. I’ll even walk with you to keep you company. Raph and Don can start dinner on their own.”

Once Leo and Mikey were out of the kitchen and heading into the sewers Raph got a pan out and put it on the stove to heat up. “Yo Donnie, you want to help me make dinner?”

“Sure. Are you going to wear an apron?” Don teased as he imagined what Raph would look like wearing one.

“Aprons are for girls,” Raph snorted as he began seasoning the meat to get it ready to cook.

Don walked over to where Raph was working and lightly ran his fingers down Raph’s exposed sides. “You wouldn’t wear one even if I asked nicely?” Don asked with a purr.

Raph couldn’t help the shiver that travelled down his spine at the touch of Don’s hands and the images that were flying through his head at Don’s words. “I guess,” Raph swallowed at his suddenly dry throat. “I guess you might be able to convince me but it ain’t gonna be easy.”

“Oh I think I could manage it,” Don said in a low voice.

Leaning up quickly he gave Raph a deep kiss, leaving him breathless before returning to finish putting the food away.


	43. Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> February 12th - Blood

When breakfast was over Don retired to his lab to double check the security on his computer and begin trying to hack into the Foot database. Lately there had been an increased number of Foot patrols at night when Don and his brothers went topside to do their own patrols.

It seemed like the Foot were concentrating their numbers in an area that had a number of empty warehouses near the docks. Most of the time they couldn’t get close enough to see what was going on without getting spotted and the two times they were able to make their way over there they had seen nothing that indicated what the Foot might be up to.

Don’s first thought was to look up who the owner of the buildings was but that turned into a dead end. It turns out that all of them had been bought anonymously at an auction about a month ago. When Don dug deeper into the purchase he was greeted by more questions than answers.

After over an hour of nothing but dead ends Don decided to take a quick break. Standing up and stretching to work the kinks out of his back from sitting in his computer chair of so long Don went to the kitchen to grab himself a snack before he went back to his work.

Opening the fridge Don grabbed one of the blood oranges that April had gotten specifically for him. As he began to peel the orange Don walked back into the living room where he had seen Raph sitting on the couch reading a book. Raph had borrowed the second Lord of the Rings book from him when he had finished the first and was now half way through it.

“How do you like this one so far?” Don asked as he sat down and chewed on an orange slice.

“It’s okay,” Raph answered. “It’s more wordy than I like but I can get through it. I overheard Mike make a bet with Leo that I would give up and wouldn’t finish all three and there ain’t a chance I’m letting him win that bet.”

Don chuckled at the foolishness of his younger brother. He had forgotten just how stubborn Raph could be when he put his mind to something. Popping another slice of the orange into his mouth he glanced over Raph’s shoulder to see what part he was on.

Looking over at Don, Raph saw him put the slice of red fruit into his mouth and start munching on it happily. “What exactly are you eating Don?” Raph asked. “I ain’t never seen anything like it.”

“Oh this,” said Don holding up the remainder of the fruit for Raph to see. “It’s called a blood orange because of its deep red coloring of the membranes. It only grows this way in places that have a low temperature at night. They taste sort of like raspberries but still keep their citrus flavor. They also have more antioxidants than regular oranges do.”

“Yeah well, it looks disgusting,” Raph said making a face at the fruit.

Don just laughed at the face that Raph pulled. “Here,” he said pulling off a small piece. “Try one and see how you like it.”

“I don’t think so,” Raph said adamantly and turned back to the book.

Don smiled as an idea came to him. He put the slice of blood orange into his mouth, took Raph’s face gently in his hands, pulled him close and kissed him. When Don ran his tongue over Raph’s lips asking for entrance, which Raph willingly gave, he slipped the piece of fruit into Raph’s mouth and pulled away. Not knowing what else to do Raph chewed and swallowed the fruit.

“There, that wasn’t that bad now was it?” Don teased.

“Yeah, yeah. I guess it wasn’t too bad,” Raph admitted. “Still looks bad though. Can’t believe you thought of that.”

“They don’t call me a genius for nothing,” Don bragged as he settled closer into Raph’s side and just enjoyed his company. His computer and the research on the Foot could wait a little while longer.


	44. Kisses To Make It Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 13th - Tears

As soon as practice was over Don nearly ran to his lab and locked the door behind him. He didn’t want anyone interrupting him unexpectedly. He had been working for the past few days secretly on Raph’s Valentine’s Day present and he had just gotten the last parts that he needed from April.

Don had noticed the past few weeks the way that Raph would play with his laptop whenever he was keeping Don company in the lab. This had given him the idea of making Raph his own laptop that way he wouldn’t have to constantly borrow Don’s or wait for him to get done using it.

The only problem with Don’s plan was that new laptops were expensive and even with the money coming in from his new job he didn’t have enough to get one. This only left him with the option of trying to repair one from the junkyard. The ones that Don was able find were either missing parts that electronic stores had kept or were damaged beyond repair. This meant a whole lot more work taking pieces from different laptops and putting them together to form one working one. Even then, Don was still a couple pieces short.

This is where April came in. Don had asked her if he could order specific parts online and have them shipped to her apartment. He didn’t want to take the chance of Raph finding out about his gift early. April had called Don up yesterday evening and told him that the parts that he was waiting on had finally come in. As soon as Don got the call he snuck out of the lair that way Raph wouldn’t have the chance to ask where he was going and if he wanted company. Don wasn’t sure that he would have been able to give a good enough excuse for turning down Raph’s company.

Now that Don had the pieces that he need it was time to do the delicate work of soldering them into place before he could test the laptop to make sure that it worked correctly. The pieces that he was working with were very small and could be easily broken and he didn’t have any extras to replace them with. This meant that every move he made with the hot soldering iron counted.

As Don moved a piece into place and began to solder it in he was started by a loud knock on the door, which caused his hands to jump. Don was able to keep from destroying the small part but in exchange for its safety he jerked his hand to the side too fast and burned his fingers.

“Ow!” Don yelled as he stuck his scorched fingers into his mouth to try and relieve some of the pain as he felt his eyes begin to tear up a bit.

The knocking on the door became louder at his yell. “Don are you alright in there?” Raph yelled through the door as he tried to force the lock open.

“Yeah. I’ll be there in just a second,” Don shouted back as he quickly hid the laptop in his desk drawer. He may have hurt his fingers but he wasn’t letting Raph see his gift early because of it. Walking over to the door Don unlocked and opened it to see Raph’s concerned face.

“You sure you’re okay Donnie-boy?” Raph asked as he stepped into the lab and raised a hand to Don’s cheek to wipe away the escaped tear.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Don assured him. “I just had a little accident with the soldering iron.”

Raph took Don’s hand away from his mouth and took a look at it. Turning it slightly to get a better look in the light he saw the red marks from where Don had burned himself. “It doesn’t look too bad,” Raph reasoned. “I do know a way to make it all better though.”

“And how exactly do you plan to manage that?” Don asked him.

Slowly and without ever losing eye contact with Don, Raph brought the injured digits to his mouth and gave them each a gentle kiss. “A kiss to make it all better,” Raph said lowly.

“Well in that case,” Don began with a smirk. “My lips feel a little chapped from the last time we went topside. Can you fix that too?”

With a chuckled Raph brought his lips to Don’s own and made them all better again.


	45. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 14th - Hug

Dinner was over and Leo was collecting the dishes so he could wash and put them away. Don turned in his chair and watched as Raph left the table and headed up to his room. Don’s brow creased as he thought back over the day.

Today hadn’t really been any different than any other day really and that’s what had Donnie confused since it was Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t like he had expected Raph to do any grand gesture proclaiming his love, especially when they hadn’t told their family yet. However, he had thought that Raph might have done something small for Don.

 _Then again_ , Don thought, _it’s not like I’ve done anything yet either. Maybe now’s the perfect time to show Raph the gift I made him. We aren’t going out on patrol tonight and it’s late enough in the evening that no one would be too suspicious if we disappeared into our rooms now._

With that plan in place Don rose from his seat in the kitchen and passed Leo and Mikey having a water fight on his way out. As Don made his way upstairs he reached the bedrooms just as Raph was leaving his room pulling on his motorcycle jacket as he went.

“Where are you going Raph?” Don asked mildly surprised.

“I’m heading topside to go visit Casey. Maybe see if he wants to go bash a few skulls,” answered Raph as he gave Don a quick kiss on the cheek as he made his way to the stairs. “I’ll see you when I get back if you’re still up. Okay?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Don responded slowly. For a moment he just stood there as Raph made his way towards the garage before turning and quickly walking to his room and closing the door behind him before he could lose his composer where everyone could see him.

Before Raph could reach the elevator he ran into Leo coming out of the kitchen drying himself off with a towel. “Hey Raph. Where are you headed?” Leo asked.

“Just headed up to visit Casey. You got a problem with that?” Raph asked almost hostilely.

“No I don’t,” answered Leo calmly. “I don’t think that Casey will be available tonight though.”

That caught Raph’s attention as he turned around to see Leo taking a seat on the couch. “What do you mean Casey won’t be available?”

That question earned him a strange look from Leo. “You really don’t know?” Raph shook his head as he waited for Leo to explain himself. “Raph, it’s Valentine’s Day. Casey is probably out on a date with April right now.”

Raph eyes widened. “Shit,” he muttered quietly.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I just remembered something that I’ve gotta do,” Raph made up as he turned around to go back upstairs. Leo just shrugged and turned to face the tv as Mikey came bouncing into the room with a big bowl of popcorn.

When Raph got to the top of the stairs he headed for Don’s room and quietly knocked on the door. Don was inside sitting at his desk just staring at the box that held the laptop that he had repaired as his gift for Raph. _I can’t believe he forgot Valentine’s Day_ , Don thought to himself. _I know we haven’t been going out long and we hadn’t exactly made plans for today but I still thought that he would have done something._

Don was knocked out of his thought when he heard the knock on the door. “Come in,” he called morosely thinking it was either Mikey or Leo.

“Hey Donnie,” Raph greeted him quietly causing Don to spin around in his chair. “You okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Don said as he forced a smile onto his face.

Raph noticed that right away and hurried over to Don. “Oh Donnie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you today. I must seem like a really crappy boyfriend. My only excuse is that I ain’t been doing this for very long. I know that ain’t much of an excuse but it’s all I’ve got.”

“It’s okay Raph,” Don told him, his face softening. “What matters is that you’re here now. Here, open this. I made it for you.” Don held out the box for Raph to take.

Raph just held the box in his hands and looked from it to Don. “You really didn’t have to do this Donnie.”

“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. Now open it.”

Carefully Raph pulled the top off of the box and saw the new laptop sitting inside. With his mouth hanging open Raph pulled the laptop out and looked between it and Don for a minute not knowing what to do or say.

“I thought that you might like your own that way you won’t have to borrow mine all the time or wait for me to finish up on it,” Don told him.

Suddenly Raph set the laptop down on Don’s desk and pulled Don into a tight hug. “Thank you Donnie. I love it. I’m just sorry that I have nothing to give you.”

Don pulled back enough so that he could look Raph in the face without leaving the hug. “Raph you already gave me everything I could ever need. You gave me you.”

Raph just tightened his hold on Don and nuzzled his cheek. “I love you Don. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day Raph. I love you too.”


	46. Introspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 15th - Laughter

Master Splinter sat in the kitchen sipping on his morning tea enjoying the silence and stillness of the early morning hours. He loved his sons dearly but sometimes they had too much energy for his taste. It wasn’t that he was getting old, he was still a master ninja after all, it was that his preference of activities was of a more sedentary variety.

Leo was the first to arrive in the kitchen as usual and began to make himself his own cup of tea under his sensei’s watchful gaze. It had become a tradition for the two of them to drink tea together in the mornings.

His next son to arrive wasn’t always so clear. Sometimes it might be Donatello after working all night in his lab. Michelangelo was also a likely option since he was typically a morning person and liked to make a large breakfast for himself and anyone else that was in the room. Lately Raphael had also been arriving earlier and had gotten into the habit of starting the coffee for Donatello.

By the time all four of his sons were in the kitchen and eating breakfast Splinter had finished his tea. Instead of moving to the dojo for a short meditation before practice he decided to stay with his sons and drink in the warmth that was his family.

Things around the lair had seemed happier lately. It hadn’t been unhappy before but there seemed to be a new lightness to everything. Splinter was unsure what exactly had caused the change but he was curious as to its origin.

His sons often made the mistake that, as they were no longer children they had somehow become sneakier. They underestimated their father’s ability to watch and observe their actions like a good ninja should. He noticed far more things than they gave him credit for.

He had noticed a certain closeness forming between Raphael and Donatello that he couldn’t quite explain. When he had first noticed this occurring he had given the change in behavior a closer examination for fear that it would create a rift within both the team and the family. Upon seeing no such rift occurring, Splinter decided to let things play out and see where that took the family.

Practice was a typical one with no surprises. Master Splinter’s focus for today’s practice was on hand to hand combat which was important in case his sons were ever disarmed in a fight. This had always been a favorite of Raphael’s due to his more aggressive nature and the close range needed to use his sais.

One thing that struck Splinter as strange about this practice was that whenever Raphael would pin Leonardo or Michelangelo beneath him, he would only hold them there long enough to get them to yield. When it was Donatello that was pinned, he seemed to hold him there for a few more seconds than was completely necessary.

Deciding to let the matter rest for the moment, Splinter dismissed his sons to their own projects and sat down on his mat in the dojo to meditate for a while. As Splinter relaxed into a meditative trance the sound of his sons’ laughter in the background brought a smile to his face. Something was changing in their small family but so far it had only brought out positive results and he was content to let things be for the moment.


	47. Weighing His Options

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 16th - Pineapple

It was evening and Don had finished hacking into the Foot’s database and had gotten some decent leads for them to look into the next time they went topside for patrol. With his work complete, Don was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the tv to see what was on. His attention was caught when he noticed a marathon of Psych on that would be playing in half an hour. Don enjoyed watching Psych but didn’t really feel like spending that time by himself.

Glancing over at the dojo where Raph was lifting weights, Don decided to see if Raph wanted to watch it with him. As Don entered the dojo he paused in the doorway for a minute and enjoyed the sight before him. Raph was laying on the on the weight bench lifting a barbell over his head. The sight of Raph’s flexing muscles and the sweat droplets that rolled across emerald skin had Don mesmerized.

“You just gonna stand there all day Brainiac or are you gonna come in?” Raph asked breaking Don out of his daze.

Don shook his head and walked farther into the dojo until he was standing right next to Raph. “I actually did have a reason for coming in here,” Don told him. “There’s a Psych marathon coming on soon and I wanted to know if you wanted to watch it with me.”

Raph continued to lift the weight as he thought about Don’s offer. “I don’t know. What was that show about again?”

“It’s about this guy that tricks a police department into thinking that he’s a psychic and letting him help them on cases,” Don said as his eyes follow Raph’s arms as the moved up and down.

Don’s staring hadn’t gone unnoticed by Raph who decided to flex his arms even more as he mulled over his options. He could either keep working out in the dojo or he could spend time watching tv on the couch with his boyfriend. It wasn’t very hard for him to choose which option he would go with but he decided to have a little fun with Don first.

Smirking he asked him, “I don’t know Donnie. I’m not sure that it really sounds like my type of show. What’s in it for me to enjoy?”

Don noticed the change in Raph’s tone and issued a matching smirk in return. When Raph’s raised his arms above his head again Don caught his wrists before he could bring them back down. Gently Don guided Raph until the barbell was resting back in its stand. Without letting go of Raph’s wrists, Don threw one of his legs over the bench so he was straddling Raph’s lower plastron.

Leaning down so that his face was only an inch away from Raph’s Don whispered, “I’m sure that I could think of something to keep you entertained. To start with, fans of the show have come up with an interesting drinking game to go along with it. The producers hid a pineapple in almost every episode and you take a drink whenever you see one. There’s also the fact that you’ll be sitting next to me. On the couch. Under a blanket. Think of all of the things I could do to you right in the middle of the lair in plain sight.”

Raph gulped at the thoughts that Don’s words brought to mind. “When…when did you say the show starts again?” Raph asked somewhat shakily as he tried to wiggle a bit to get rid of a growing problem.

Don’s smirk just grew as he felt Raph move below him. “Half an hour,” he answered before pulling away. With the grace born of many years of ninja practice, Don swiftly moved off of Raph and walked out of the dojo without a glance behind him. He knew that Raph would follow as soon as he had directed more of his blood supply back up to his brain. Raph wasn’t the only one that knew how to tease his mate.


	48. Midnight Snack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 17th - Chocolate

Don yawned as he washed his hands after using the bathroom and made his way back to his lab. It was late and he should probably be in bed by now but his work just never seemed to end. He was closer to finding out the owner of the warehouses the Foot were so interested in, his online business was picking up speed, and someone had broken the toaster again for the millionth time.

When Don got back to his lab and sat back down in his chair he noticed a sticky note attached to his computer. Plucking it off he held it closer to the light so he could read it.

_Don, come up to your room. I have a surprise for you. – Raph_

His brow creased and he looked towards the door. He hadn’t heard anyone come downstairs while he was in the bathroom. Then again, he did live in a house full of ninjas so that wasn’t too surprising. Deciding that he probably wouldn’t get anymore work done anyway Don shut down his computer and turned out the light.

When Don got to his room and opened the door the first thing he noticed was how dark it was inside. Usually there was a slow glow from the laptop that he kept on his desk. As soon as he crossed the threshold the door was closed behind him and he found himself pinned against the wall.

Before Don could mutter any type of protest a pair of lips were attached to his own and a tongue had invaded his mouth. Don’s hands flew up to grip Raph shoulders. His original plan was to push Raph away to figure out what was going on but the moment he felt Raph’s tongue playing with his own his legs began to buckle.

They continued their tongue war until the need to breath became too great and Raph pulled back. Before Don could say anything Raph silenced him with a finger to his lips.

“Shhh,” Raph hushed. “Just relax and let me do the driving. I know I forgot about Valentine’s Day so I’m gonna make it up to you. All you have to do is relax and enjoy.”

With a ragged breath Don nodded his head and allowed Raph to pull him towards the bed. When they got there Raph pushed Don back until he was laying on his carapace. Slowly Raph glided up Don's body until he was straddling his legs and could ravish his mouth again.

Sitting up Raph leaned over to the bedside table and lit a candle to cast a soft glow in the room. Raph turned back and looked at Don laying below him, pausing for a moment to admire the beautiful sight. Running his hands along the bed until they reached the pillow the Don was resting his head on Raph reached underneath it and pulled out a bottle of chocolate sauce.

“What’s that for?” Don questioned.

“Oh I just thought I might enjoy a little snack,” Raph responded with a grin.

Popping the top off Raph squeezed the bottle so that some of the chocolate drizzled down onto Don’s neck and collarbone. Without losing eye contact, Raph dipped hid head down and began to lap up the chocolate sauce. Don gasped quietly at the feel of the tongue caressing his neck and couldn’t stop a churr from escaping from his lips.

Once Don’s neck was clean Raph poured more chocolate onto his hand and dragged it down Don’s plastron leaving a chocolately trail behind it. Raph proceeded to move down Don’s body cleaning up his mess as he went while Don moaned and wiggled on the bed trying to stay put.

When Raph reached the bottom of Don’s plastron he was greeted by the sight of Don’s cock starting to peek out of his slit. Ignoring it for the moment Raph choose to keep up with the pleasurable torture that he was inflicting on his mate. Instead he coated the sensitive area of the inside of Don’s thighs and started suckling at them.

“Raphie,” Don groaned as his cock tumbled all the way out into the open.

“Enjoying yourself Donnie-boy?” Raph asked as he allowed his own erection to drop down. Leaning over the side of the bad, Raph grabbed the bottle of lube that he had left there and quickly started prepping Don.

“So close Raphie. So close,” Don gasped as Raph finger moved inside of him as he was stretched.

Raph quickly grabbed Don’s member and squeezed the base of it to keep to from climaxing before Raph had finished with him earning a whine from Don. Once he had deemed Don to be stretched enough Raph replaced his finger with his dick and sank into the warmth that was his mate.

Thrusting in and out of Don’s tight heat Raph stroked his dick in time with his thrusts. It wasn’t long before they were both on the brink of orgasm but Raph wanted Don to finish first.

“Come on Donnie. Just let go,” Raph encouraged him.

That was all it took and Don was exploding in Raph hand. The moment Don’s inner walls clamped down on him Raph was shooting his own heat deep inside Don. They both rode out their climaxes in silence so as not to draw attention to themselves.

Once they had both calmed down from their high Raph pulled out and laid down next to Don pulling him into his arms. “So does this make up for me forgetting Valentine’s Day?” Raph asked with a smirk.

“If this is how you make it up to me than I hope you forget it every year,” Don quipped before allowing his eyes to close.

“Don’t go to sleep yet Donnie,” Raph told him. “There’s still more chocolate left in the bottle.”


	49. Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 18th - Pleasure

Don’s return to consciousness was a gradual process as he became more aware that he wasn’t the only one in his bed. Raph was laying beside him having never left last night. Looking over at his alarm clock he saw that they still had some time before they were expected to be up to join their family for breakfast.

Even though he had only been asleep for a few hours Don still felt well rested. Part of that was probably due to the workout that he and Raph had done right before he fell asleep leading to a deeper sleep. Looking over at his mate laying beside him he listened to his deep breaths and smiled. Last night had been completely unexpected but no less amazing.

As Don looked past Raph he saw what was left of the chocolate bottle sitting on his bedside table. Glancing back at Raph, Don got had an idea. Raph wasn’t the only one that could surprise the other when it came to things to try in the bedroom.

Don mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. If he was going to pull this off he would need all of his knowledge in stealth if he were to surprise Raph without waking him up too soon.

Gently Don began to slide out of Raph’s arms without waking him up. Despite how deeply asleep he may appear Raph was still a fully trained ninja and would notice a change in the environment around him. This was especially true if he felt that it could pose a threat to either himself or someone he loved.

As Don pulled out of Raph’s grasp the hothead sighed and turned so that he was now laying on his back instead of his side. Don held still for a minute to make sure that Raph wasn’t waking up. Once he was sure that Raph wasn’t going to move anymore Don continued moving down the bed until he was situated between Raph’s legs.

Once he was settled in place Don took a deep breath, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Raph. Don could become addicted to that scent if he let himself. Tipping his head down he gave a tentative lick along the crease of Raph’s leg where it met his plastron that earned him a small sigh of contentment from his hotheaded lover.

Feeling braver Don leisurely moved his licking towards his final target of the growing bulge that housed Raph’s cock. When Don licked directly over Raph’s slit he was rewarded with another sigh as Raph shifted on the bed again and unconsciously spread his legs wider.

With a grin Don attached his mouth to the slit and gently sucked on it, dipping his tongue inside every now and again. Under his ministrations Raph’s cock began to harden and slip down into Don’s mouth. Don hummed around the organ in his mouth and began to run his tongue along the underside of it while pulling his head back a bit so only the head was still in his mouth.

As he suckled on the head he lapped up the pre-cum that was starting to leak out of it, tasting as unique to Raph as his scent was. Raph moaned and shifted on the bed a bit more as Don dipped his head back down taking more of Raph’s dick into his mouth.

Slowly Raph’s eye fluttered open as he stared down his body in confusion. “Don?” Raph managed to rasp out.

Don just ignored that question in Raph voice as he continued on with his plan of waking Raph up with a mind-blowing blowjob. He kept dipping his head down until he couldn’t take any more in without choking. Hearing Raph’s breathing speed up Don knew that he was getting close and swallowed around the swelling organ that was held firmly in his mouth sending a bolt of pleasure up through Raph’s spine.

“Don,” Raph said urgently. “I ain’t gonna be able to hold on much longer.” Raph reached down to try and pull Don off but Don just batted his hand away and kept swallowing around the cock in his mouth urging Raph closer to orgasm.

With a soft cry Raph exploded in Don’s mouth. Don just swallowed down Raph’s seed as best he could with only a few drops escaping his mouth and dribbling onto his lips. When Raph’s cock started to deflate Don pulled away with a final slurp.

“Good morning Raphie,” Don grinned up at him licking his lips.

“I’ll say it is,” panted Raph. “What brought that on Donnie?”

Don moved back up the bed and laid back down in Raph’s welcoming arms. “Just an idea that popped into my head,” Don said simply. “You aren’t they only one that knows how to mix things up in the bedroom.”

“After that wakeup call I will never accuse you of that,” Raph said as he leaned over and gave Don a kiss, tasting himself in Don’s mouth.

“We still have about half an hour before we need to get up. Wanna make out until than?” Don asked with a smile.

“I’m so glad that I fell in love with the smart turtle in the family,” Raph said before claiming Don’s mouth again.


	50. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 19th - Pain

_Raph looked around him as he stood over to the side in Don’s lab. Don had asked to speak with him and he didn’t seem very happy about it, which in turn had Raph a little nervous. Don just sat at his desk staring at his computer and completely ignoring Raph._

_“You wanted to talk to me Donnie-boy?” Raph asked trying to end the awkward silence._

_“Don’t call me that,” Don ordered him in a sharp voice._

_“Okay,” Raph agreed a bit surprisingly since Don had never objected to the name before. Hesitantly he took a step closer to Don. “What’s the matter Donnie? You seem kind of upset. Did I do something wrong?”_

_Growling lowly Don spun around suddenly to face Raph for the first time since he entered the room. “What do you think Raph?” barked Don. “Oh course I’m upset and yes you did do something wrong. You told me you loved me. This whole thing between us is wrong. Lying to our family is wrong. The only reason you think you love me is because no one will ever think of us that way. I tried to play along for your sake but I just can’t do it anymore Raphael. I’m done.”_

_To say Raph was shocked by Don’s declaration was an understatement. It took him a minute to pull his runaway thoughts back together and when he did the only thing he could think to say was, “Donnie, I don’t understand.”_

_“What about what I just said was unclear?” Don asked condescendingly. “I don’t love you. I never did. I tried for your benefit but it isn’t enough and I can’t keep pretending. Goodbye Raphael.”_

_As Don finished he got up and walked out of the lab leaving Raph rooted to the spot._

_“Don,” Raph called out. He tried following after him but found himself unable to move. “Don wait! Donnie!”_

Raph sat up suddenly looking around at the now familiar sight of his bedroom. _Just a dream_ he thought to himself as he placed a hand over his heart to try and ease away the pain that he felt there. _What if it was real though? What if Donnie really feels that way?_

Raph was startled out of his thoughts as his door slowly creaked open and he could see Don standing there silhouetted from the soft light still coming from the living room.

“Don,” Raph said in surprise as he quickly wiped away a bead of sweat that had formed on his brow. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just heading to bed and heard you crying out so I came in to check on you,” Don said with concern reaching out to take one of Raph’s hands in his own. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Raph said as he clutched Don’s hands tighter. “It was just a nightmare.”

Don pulled his hands free much to Raph’s reluctance but made up for it when he motioned for Raph to move over so he could sit next to him. “Tell me about it. If it was bad enough to have you calling out for me like that then you should probably talk about it,” Don encouraged.

Raph took a deep breath as he recounted his nightmare. “You told me that you didn’t love you, that you never loved me. You were just faking it for my sake and that you couldn’t do it anymore and then you walked away and just left me there.”

“Oh Raph,” Don said. Reaching out Don cupped Raph’s face and gently kissed his lips. “I do love you. I love you with all my heart and I’m never leaving you. You’d have to get rid of me first.”

“Good,” Raph said as he pulled Don close to him and just held him tightly. “My heart hurts just thinking about you leaving me. I’m not sure that I could stand the pain if you left me for real. Spend the night with me?” The last part almost coming out as a plea.

“Of course,” Don whispered as he slid farther down in the hammock and pulled a blanket over them.


	51. Cool Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 20th - Walk

"Mikey, get your ass back here!" Raph yelled as he chased his younger brother through the lair.

Mikey made a sudden turn into the dojo where he knew Leo would be practicing. If past pranks had taught him anything it was that his oldest brother would almost always protect him, especially from Raph.

As the door to the dojo crashed open Leo whipped around with his katanas still in his hands from the katas that he was just practicing. Mikey ran as fast as he could and spun around until he was hidden behind Leo.

"Leo, save me from the big bad Raph monster," Mikey exclaimed as he clutched the top of Leo carapace and looked over his shoulder as Raph came storming into the dojo.

"Leo I suggest you move right now because Mikey's about to receive a well deserved pounding," snarled Raph.

Holding his katanas in a more defensible position, Leo settled he feet so the he was balanced and prepared for Raph's on slot. "Raph calm down," Leo ordered. "I'm sure whatever Mikey did it isn't as bad as you're making it out to be."

"Not as bad," Raph repeated. "You don't even know what he did and you're already defending him. You know what Leo? You are completely unbelievable. You don't even wait to hear my side of the story and you've already condemned me. Sometimes I think you pick Mikey's side when he pulls these pranks just because you get to blame me."

As Raph stepped towards Leo with his fists clenched and hand came out from behind him and grabbed on to his shoulder. When Raph turned around to see who as holding him back he saw Don standing there.

Without releasing his hold on Raph's shoulder Don looked right past him to Leo. "I'm going for a walk to the junkyard to get some things I need. I'm also taking Raph with me since I know you don't like me going there alone. We'll be back in a few hours."

Leaving no room for argument from either of his brothers Don just moved his hand down so he was holding onto Raph's arm instead of his shoulder and began pulling him out of the dojo behind him. When Raph opened his mouth to argue with Don's plan Don just shushed him until they were out in the sewers.

Once the door to the lair had closed behind them Raph started yelling about how unreasonable Leo was being but still followed along behind Don. Don for his part tuned out most of what Raph was saying adding the appropriate ahhs and uh-has at the right spots. They had been brothers far longer then they had been lovers and this was not the first time that Raph had gone off on a tirade against Leo.

"He's just so impossible to deal with," Raph yelled as the neared the exit to the junkyard.

"I don't disagree with you Raph," Don said calmly. "I just wanted to get you out of there before the situation escalated even more and I thought a walk would do the trick. If it makes you feel better I'll talk to Leo when we get back. You're right it isn't fair that he automatically takes Mikey's side but you yelling at him like that doesn't help either."

"He just makes me so mad sometimes," Raph said as he kicked a tin can out of the tunnel and into the junkyard.

Don took hold of his had to halt his progress. "Then don't think about Leo right now. Think about me and how we get to spend time together right now, just the two of us."

Raph sighed, some of the angry lines fading from his face. "All right Donnie-boy," agreed Raph as he reached up to stroke Don's face. "Now what are you looking for out here. The night is still early and I don't really want to head back home anytime soon."


	52. Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 21st - Restaurant

"But Leo," Mikey whined. "I don't want to want to go out for patrol. It's not fair. Why do Raph and Don get to stay here?"

Leo just sighed as he kept dragging Mikey towards the door. "I don't care if you don't want to go out for patrol and it is fair. Raph and Don aren't the ones with so much extra energy that they're wreaking havoc in the lair by pulling pranks. Maybe a run on the rooftops will help with that."

Raph shook his head in amazement as he watched from the second floor balcony as Leo ushered Mikey out of the lair and closed the door behind him. Don's talk with Leo had actually worked. Raph wasn't sure if he could believe it. Every time he tried talking to Leo about something like that it was almost sure to end in an argument if not an all out fight. Raph was going to have to get Don to teach him how he did it.

Turning around Raph went back to his room and flopped down on his hammock to finish reading the final Lord of the Rings book. Master Splinter had left to go visit April for the evening and Don had insisted that he remain in his room until Don said that he could come out.

Raph had argued with Don about the restriction at first but Don knew how to fight dirty. Don had started kissing him until he couldn't remember his own name and then got him to agree to stay in his room until further notice. While there were definite benefits to dating a genius there were also drawbacks at times.

~

Raph had been in his room for just over an hour and had gotten about one third of the way through the book when he was interrupted by a soft knock on his door. "Hey Raphie," Don said as he poked his head inside. "You can come up now but you need to keep your eyes closed."

"Okay," Raph agreed as he swung out of his hammock and made his way over to the door. Don didn't move when Raph reached the doorway and instead blocked his way much to Raph's surprise.

Reaching up Don grabbed hold of Raph bandana and twisted it around so that Raph was effectively blindfolded with his own bandana. "I just want to make sure that you can't peek," Don whispered. Don took Raph hand in his own and guided him towards the stairs. "Just trust me."

Raph choose to relax into Don's hands and just follow where he led him. Even without the use of his sight Raph knew that they were just inside the kitchen when they came to a stop. The lack of sight also made Raph more sensitive to the environment and knew immediately when Don let go of his hand and moved to stand behind him.

When Don gently turned his mask back around Raph kept his eyes closed for a moment before slowly opening them to take in the scene in front of him. The kitchen had made and almost complete transformation.

The overhead lights were dimmed and the main source of illumination came from two candles sitting on the table. The table was covered with a nice tablecloth and it was set for two people. "Don, what is all of this?" Raph asked quietly.

"I wanted to do something romantic for you for a change," Don answered. "After all, you're the one that made the picnic and other stuff like that and I just wanted to do something romantic for you for a change. I know it's not exactly like a restaurant but it's as close as I could get."

"It's perfect Donnie-boy," Raph told him. "I love it but you didn't have to do anything like this. I did those things because I wanted to show you how much I love you, not because I expected anything in return."

"That's why I did this, because I wanted to show you how much I love you too so lets sit down," responded Don as he moved towards the table.

Raph just laughed as he joined Don and reached out to lift the cover off of the closest dish. "So what's on the menu chef?"


	53. Correlation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 22nd - Dance

Don was up in the garage working on Mikey's hoverboard while he nibbled on his lunch. According to Mikey the board wasn't going as fast as it usually was and it was very jerky when he tried to get it to take anything tighter than a slow, gentle corner. To Mikey this was a catastrophe and needed to be fixed right away and so he had been bugging Don to fix it all morning until he finally gave in.

Don had finally agreed on the condition that since he would be working through lunch Mikey had to make him something to eat and it had to be something nicer than just a boring ham and cheese sandwich on a plate. True to his word Mikey had gone all out making tiny finger sandwiches that Don liked that he could eat while he worked as well as a nice thermos of Don's favorite flavored coffee.

As he walked over to take a look at the hoverboard Don flipped on the radio to give him background music. Sometime the garage just seemed so quiet when he was the only one there and the music helped to fill that silence.

Popping one of the mini sandwiches into his mouth Don opened up the main compartment of the board and started looking for the problem. With one ear to the music Don heard one of his favorite songs come on and started swaying in time to the beat. As that song ended and another began Don started all out dancing in place as he riffled through his toolbox.

Somewhere between the fourth and fifth song that he was dancing to Don felt a presence behind him. This didn't worry Don too much. A whole lifetime spent with Raph on top of the past two months of exploring a new relationship with him let him know on an intuitive level when Raph was nearby.

Knowing that Raph's eyes were on him Don made his movements more exaggerated. With a smile Don intentionally knocked a wrench off of the workbench with his elbow. Bending low Don made sure Raph had a nice view of his backside and flicked his tail as he stood back up again.

Don had barely gotten the chance to stand up straight before two strong arms wrapped around him from behind and drawing him close to a strong, muscular body.

"I was wondering how long you were going to hide in the shadows," Don whispered as he leaned into Raph's hold.

"I was too busy enjoying the show," Raph answered as he nipped at Don's neck. "I like watching you dance."

"Then dance with me Raphie," Don purred as he turned around and put his arms around Raph's neck.

Raph just shook his head with a smile. "I don't think so Donnie," Raph replied. "I don't know how to dance. I'd just end up making a fool of myself."

"Dancing's easy," Don laughed. "It's just moving while there's music playing. Besides, I once heard that the way a guy dances has a direct correlation to how well he performs in bed and I know for a fact that you're excellent in that department."

Raph swallowed hard at the look that Don was currently giving him. "Well," he finally managed to utter once he found his voice. "If that's true than I must be standing in the presence of one of the world's best dancers because you're pretty hot in the bedroom too."

Raph turned them in a sweeping motion until he could dip Don low. Pulling him up again Raph caught Don's lips in his own. "Let me know when you're done up here I can give up something to compare my dancing skills to Donnie-boy," Raph said, the promise in his voice sending a shiver down Don's spine.


	54. Missed Opportunity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 23rd - Expensive

Raph and Don lay back in Don's bed trying to catch their breath. They had just finished their third round together that night and needed a quick break. Neither was quite ready to fall asleep yet but instead just enjoyed laying in each other's arms basking in the afterglow.

"Damn Donnie," Raph panted. "That was hot."

"I agree," gasped Don. "I'm not sure that I can go again tonight though."

"Don't worry Don. I'm beat too," Raph answered.

Don turned onto his side until he was cuddled up against Raph. Burying his nose into Raph's neck he breathed in their combined scent. This intimacy that he had with Raph was something that he never thought that he would be able to experience and now it was his to enjoy.

"I love you so much Raph," Don whispered.

Raph hugged Don tighter and lightly kissed his forehead in response. "I love you too Donnie. I'm so glad that you're mine. I don't know how I would have been able to keep going if I never told you how I felt and convinced you to give me a chance."

"I'm glad you did tell me," Don murmured into Raph's neck. "I would hate to me missing this right now. To never have gotten the chance to experience all of this with you is unthinkable."

Raph took a moment to nuzzle his cheek against Don's and just feel the closeness between them. Pulling back Raph locked eyes with Don. "Why did you give me a chance anyway Don?" Raph asked. "It's not like you had ever thought about me this way before I said anything and we still don't know if our family would approve of what we're doing. Why did you say yes?"

Don leaned back to he could see Raph better. "Well there were a few reasons," Don began. "For starters, we had always been close growing up and I have always felt safe with you for as long as I can remember. Besides, H. Jackson Brown, Jr. once said that nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity and I didn't want to miss out on this one."

"Well I for one am glad that you took the chance," Raph said as he gave Don's pulse point a quick lick earning himself a soft giggle from Don. Seeing Don's blush just caused a smirk to form across Raph's face. "Oh, so Donnie-boy is a little ticklish around his neck. I wonder where else you're ticklish."

Don saw the trouble that he was in and tried to sift away but it was too late. Raph swung a leg over Don and had him pinned in a moment as he slowly ran his hands down Don's sides. Much to Raph's delight Don started wiggling to get away from his probing fingers and couldn't stifle his laughs for very long.

"Raphie stop it," Don laughed. "I can't keep going. I'm too tired. Stop."

Raph just laughed at Don's plight but did back off. Swinging his feet off the bed Raph got up and started looking around for his gear that had been scattered around the room during their hasty entrance. Once he found his last piece of gear on the floor Raph went back to the bed to grab his sais that had been place on the table.

"Goodnight Donnie-boy," Raph said with a tender kiss to Don's forehead. "Can't spend too many nights in here or the others will start getting suspicious."

"Goodnight Raph. I love you," Don whispered as he settled farther into the covers of his bed.

"Love you more," said Raph as he eased himself out of the room without being detected.


	55. Self-Taught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 24th - Poor

It had been a relatively lazy day in the lair. No one really wanted to do much of anything. Practice was a challenge for everyone including Leo. Master Splinter eventually let them go seeing that none of them had the attention span to focus on any of the new moves that he was trying to teach them.

Now they were all seated in the living room, gathered together as a whole clan. Master Splinter was sitting in his comfortable reclining chair. Leo had taken a spot at the end of the couch closest to his father with Mikey sitting on the floor next to his feet reading one of his comic books.

Don was sitting in the middle of the couch next to Leo with Raph on his other side. Don was working on restoring a mantel clock and Raph was using the laptop that Don had fixed for him for Valentine's Day to look up the different pieces that Don would need and how to put them together. In front of them, their ankles rubbed against each other subtly so them no one else would notice but enough to show each other that they were there.

Raph burst out laughing all of a sudden causing his brothers and father to look at him strangely. Don lowered his tools onto his lap and turned so that he was facing Raph almost directly.

"What's so funny Raph?" Don ventured.

"I was just browsing on the web and this page popped up advertising for the New York University. They have a quote on the main page by this Henry Youngman guy. It says 'a self-taught man usually has a poor teacher and a worse student'," Raph laughed as he read the words on the screen.

Mikey just shook his head and turned back towards his comic. "I don't get what's so funny."

"I think I get it," Leo said. "You're thinking about Donnie aren't you Raph?"

"Yeah," Raph nodded in agreement. "This guy is basically saying that you can't teach yourself anything or you'll turn out stupid cause you'd be a poor teacher and that would also make you a bad student. Don definitely proves that wrong. He's an absolute genius. Hell, everything he does in that lab and for us in this lair he taught himself. As far as I'm concerned that Henry guy doesn't know what he's talking about."

Don blushed at the compliments that Raph was giving him. "Raph it's not that big of a deal. The quote does say that the person is only usually a poor teacher for themselves."

"Do not be too modest my son," Master Splinter interjected. "The accomplishments that you have achieved over the years would be considered incredible for an average human to have earned but are even more so for someone that has lacked the advantages that come with being human. I was able to teach you as a child but you surpassed my abilities many years ago and have continued to grow. I am most proud of you."

Leo reached over and gripped Don's forearm in his strong grasp. "Splinter's right Don," Leo agreed with his master. "You should be proud of what you have been able to teach both yourself and us as well. Look at Raph for instance. You're teaching him how to fix things around the lair. You can only do that because you taught yourself first and I for one think you are nowhere close to being a poor teacher."

"Well if that's the case then I think Raph could close the pop-up," Don began. "After I'm done here I could start teaching you two how to do repairs around the lair."

Seeing the look on Don's face Mikey suddenly scrambled to his feet and headed up to his room with an excuse of cleaning up his comics thrown over his shoulder. Leo excused himself saying that he was going to go practice that new moves Master Splinter had shown them this morning because he wasn't sure that he got them fully.

Don, Raph, and Master Splinter just laughed at the other's reactions and went back to their own activities.


	56. Cost of Doing Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 25th - Cheap

Don took a large sip from his coffee cup as he walked into his lab and turned on the lights. He was still a little groggy even after the huge breakfast the Mikey had made. The most likely reason for his tiredness was him staying up until one o'clock in the morning to finish fixing the clock and posting it on his website. Don was not willing however to see this as a downside since he got it posted and just planned on using large amounts of coffee to get himself through the day.

Starting up his computer Don eased back into his chair and just allowed himself the moment to relax. Once the computer had finished turning on Don opened up his email to see if there was anything new there that he needed to respond to.

The first step was deleting the multiple spam emails that he had received for penis enlargement because it's not like he really needed it. Once that was out of the way he could move on to actual emails that he needed to look at. The first email at the top of the list caught his attention right away. It was from a woman in Maine that had been looking for a good quality mantel clock for her mother's birthday and was willing to pay extra if it could be shipped to her by the twenty-eighth of the month.

Don just smiled as he typed up a reply email saying that it shouldn't be a problem. When that was done Don quickly scanned the rest of his inbox to make sure that there was nothing else that needed his immediate attention. When nothing else popped out at him he changed pages so that he was looking at his website and changed the status of the clock from available to sold.

As soon as that was all set Don got up and crossed the room to where he kept all of the different appliances that he had fixed and put up on his website. Taking the clock off the shelf he pulled out bubble wrap and the correct size box that he would need to ship the clock.

While Don was wrapping the clock in bubble wrap Raph came walking into the lab to make sure that Don hadn't fallen asleep at his computer with how tired he was. "What are wrapping up Don?" Raph asked as he looked over Don's shoulder.

"Someone ordered the clock that we finished repairing last night," Don answered without looking away from what he was doing.

"Already!" exclaimed Raph. "But you just added it last night. How is it that someone already saw it and wants to buy it? Not that it's a bad thing though. Means what you're doing is working."

"What we're doing," Don corrected. "We're both partners when it comes to this new job. As to your question, the only answer I can think of is word of mouth and the cheap prices."

Raph thought about that for a moment as he cup off the pieces of tape that Don would need to secure the box closed. "I'm not sure that I get how exactly those two things would make such a big difference," Raph finally said.

"Well think about it this way," Don started to explain. "People look for goods based on a seller's reputation. Word of mouth by other previous customers has given us a good reputation for the quality of our products and the service that we provide. Our cheap prices also help because that makes us competitive with larger brand name stores. The economy is getting better slowly but people are still cautious where they spend their money and if they can get good stuff from us at cheap prices then what we offer on our website will go pretty fast."

When Don was finished explaining that to Raph he printed out a shipping label for the box and grabbed his human disguise since it was already light outside.

"Where are you heading off to now Donnie?" Raph questioned.

"I'm going up to April's to see if she could get this in the mail for me today. The woman that ordered it requested that it be shipped by Tuesday and it would be simpler if it could get it shipped out today so I don't need to worry about it," Don answered.

Raph snagged his disguise as he followed after Don. "Well then I'm coming with you. It's light outside now and Leo wouldn't want you going topside by yourself and I agree with him."

Don just shrugged at Raph's declaration. "Fine by me. Just more time I get to spend with you."


	57. Decisions Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 26th - Family

Don walked out of his lab and into the living room where the rest of his family was seated watching the evening news. In his hands was a pile of papers that he had just printed off.

"Leo," Don called out getting everyone's attention. "I think I finally figured out what the Foot are doing at those abandoned warehouses down by the docks."

"That's great! What did you find out Don?" Leo asked in excitement. He had been getting anxious over the lack of answers but knew that Don was doing his best to find them.

Don quickly walked over to the couch and sat between Leo and Raph so they both could see the papers. Mikey moved so that he was sitting on the coffee table in front of them so he could get a look at the papers too.

"Okay," Don said as he spread the papers out on his lap. "Well I looked into the city's accounts and found out that Saki had purchased the warehouses at a foreclosure auction a couple of months ago. This is also around the same time that there has been an increase in Foot activity in that area."

Don paused to make sure that everyone was keeping up with his explanation. "It was at this point that I got stuck for a while with a bunch of dead ends. Then I took another look at the increase in Foot patrols in general that we've been dealing with and that those soldiers didn't seem to be as experienced. This on top of news reports that I've found of foster children from all over the city and a few farther away, almost all of them in their teens, leads me to believe that the Shredder is trying to increase his forces."

Leo took some of the printouts from Don and began to look them over for himself. "Is there anything else that you have to back up your theory Don?" Leo asked.

"Well I tried hacking into the Foot database to see if I could find anything there but either they didn't have any files on it or they were very well hidden. I did however patch into the city's surveillance system and watched some of the street cameras from around that area. They showed a large number of teens entering the warehouses dressed as one would expect and leaving dressed in black. I then cross-referenced pictures of the teens with the missing persons database and almost all of them were missing foster children."

"Good work Don," Leo praised. "I'll take a closer look at these papers tonight and make a plan. We'll go in tomorrow and take a closer look around and handle the situation from there."

Leo got up off the couch and headed towards his room to start planning for the next day. Master Splinter excused himself saying that he wasn't as young as he used to be and needed his rest. Mikey settled into the spot that Leo had vacated and got ready to watch a monster movie that was about to come on.

With a glance thrown at Don Raph got up and made his way towards his room with Don following behind him at a slight distance. When he was sure that no one was paying him any attention Don slipped into Raph's room and shut the door behind him.

Raph had settle into his hammock by the time that Don got to the room and patted the spot beside him indicating that Don should join his there. Don didn't need to be asked twice.

"So how many kids do you think will be in those warehouses?" Raph asked.

"I'm not sure. A couple dozen maybe," Don guessed.

"Hmm," Raph hummed as he put an arm around Don and drew him in close.

"Is something bothering you Raph?" Don asked as he leaned into Raph's hold.

Raph was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "It's just that I'm afraid of you getting hurt," he finally answered. "I know that you can take care of yourself in battle but I'm not sure that I could control my reaction if you did get hurt. I just don't think the battlefield is the best place for our family to find out what's going on between us. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. It's just how I feel."

"You do have a point," Don conceded. "And the same would go for me if you were the one that got hurt which is a bit more likely based on past experience." Don paused for a moment. "I think we should tell them about us. They're our family and they deserve to know."

Raph sat up a bit so that he could look directly into Don's face. "Are you sure Don?" Raph asked. "I don't want you thinking we have to do this just because of what I said."

"It's not because of what you said," Don assured him. "Although you do make a good point. I just think that it's time that we stopped hiding and came clean with our family. Sometime within the week should be good I think. I don't want to do it tomorrow because I'm not sure that it's a good idea to drop such a surprise on them right before a possible battle."

"Sounds good Don. Just remember that I'll be right there next to you," Raph told him with a nuzzle to his cheek as they settled down and drifted off to dreamland.


	58. Repaying the Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 27th - Blanket

The lair was full of nervous energy that evening. Raph was in the dojo working over his punching bag in an attempt to keep himself occupied. Mikey was playing a video game but kept dying because he couldn't focus on the timing of hitting the buttons to make it to the next level. Leo was sitting to the side of the living room meticulously cleaning and polishing his katanas. Don was just inside his lab trying to type code but mostly just staring off into space.

Leo had explained their plan of attack on the warehouses earlier that night over dinner. The plan was for them to initially assess how advanced the missing teens were becoming in the ninja training. They also planned on causing some disruptions that would hopefully cause confusion and possibly lead to some of the teens changing their minds about joining the Foot clan.

The waiting was the hardest part for the four brothers but they needed to wait for the blanket of night to fall in order to mask their presence. As ninjas they must stick to the shadows and use them to their advantage. Once it was finally dark enough outside Leo gathered them together and they headed topside to cross the roofs to the warehouses.

Once they reached their destination they scaled the walls without a sound or sign that they were there. Quietly they made their way over to the skylight that was situated over the back corner of the building and Donnie slipped ahead of his brothers and disabled the alarm system so they could slip in unnoticed.

Inside the warehouse there were at least two-dozen teen in Foot soldier clothing going through some basic katas. In front of them stood four full-fledged Foot soldiers leading the katas and making sure that the teens stayed in line and didn't cause any trouble.

"Don you knock out the lights and lock most of the doors so they can't escape easily," Leo whispered lowly so that his voice wouldn't carry. "Raph you go with him and cover him. Do not just charge into the fight. Mikey and I will hit the floor once the lights are out and scare them a bit. Hopefully they'll get the message and won't come back."

"Sure thing fearless," Raph muttered as he followed close behind Don.

As Don crouched down by the main power panel Raph lifted himself up onto a higher beam that way he could keep an eye out all around the area. No one was getting close to his Don as long as he had a say in it.

As soon as the lights went out and a blanket of darkness consumed the warehouse chaos erupted on the main floor. Panicked, the teens broke formation and started rushing towards the doors in order to escape. The chaos was made worse when the Foot soldiers began barking orders for the teens to return to their units and Leo and Mikey moved among them.

With darkness as their aid Leo and Mikey slid between the teens swinging their weapons enough that they would leave a few bruises but no serious injury. The point of tonight's mission wasn't to hurt the kids but instead to convince them that being part of the Foot was a bad idea.

Back up in the cross beams Raph was holding off two of the Foot soldiers and keeping them away from where Don was working. They weren't too much of a challenge as far as skill level went but Raph did have to split his concentration between watching both of them and making sure that he didn't lose his balance. If he were to fall he wouldn't get too injured since he was only twenty feet in the air but that would leave Don unguarded and that was unacceptable as far as he was concerned.

What Raph didn't notice was that while he was focused on the Foot soldiers, one of the more daring teens had made his way up to the beams and was getting ready to attack Raph from behind with a large knife. Before he had a chance to pounce he was knocked down to the ground by a well placed hit from Don's bo.

"No one messes with my Raph," Don said darkly as he helped Raph finish off the Foot soldiers. "Come on. Most of the kids are gone now. We need to go meet up with Mikey and Leo."

As they made their way out of the skylight to head towards the meeting place Raph stopped Don for a moment. "Thanks for having my back in their Brainiac."

Don smiled at the term of endearment. "You've always had mine Raph. I was just repaying the favor."


	59. Cloth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 28th - Coat

_Another night, another trip to the junkyard,_ Raph thought as he followed Don out of the sewer exit and into the dump. Don had wanted to look around for more items that he and Raph could fix up and put on his website. He also hoped to find some more spare parts that he could use around the lair that way if something broke he would be able to fix it right away and not have to wait to go to the junkyard.

When Don told his family the he was going to the junkyard Master Splinter had asked that he take one of his brothers with him. Raph had eagerly volunteered to go with Don without being asked. He saw it as a nice chance to spend some quality alone time with his mate without being interrupted. A chance where they could openly show their affection for one another without fear of anyone's reaction.

There was also the added bonus that Don almost always had Raph life some heavy pieces of junk out of his way. Raph didn't mind too much because he suspected that part of the reason Don's asked that was not just that he needed something buried deep in a pile but because he liked to watch Raph flex his muscles. Raph enjoyed showing off for Don so he didn't have a problem with that. Especially since it seemed to work Don up to no end and Raph benefitted greatly from it when they returned home.

Don sighed a bit as he nudged through some of the piles just sort of poking around. Raph looked over at him curiously. He was a bit worried that Don didn't have his usual excitement at the possibility of finding hidden treasures.

"What's up Donnie? You seem kind of down," Raph asked.

"Nothing really," Don answered morosely. "It's just that Mikey game system broke earlier today and I'm not sure that I can bring it back to life this time."

Raph just sorted at that. "Well if he'd be more careful and not spill his snacks all over the thing it might last longer," Raph said without remorse.

"Actually it's not his fault this time," responded Don as he continued to pick through the junk. "It's just old. I found it here a few years ago and fixed it up but that doesn't mean that it didn't have some problems of its own. I guess the saying's true, you cut your coat according to your cloth."

Raph raised an eyebrow at the last bit as he moved to a different pile to look through himself. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that one can only achieve what they have the resources to achieve and unfortunately even with our new job we just don't have to resources to get a good gaming system," Don sighed.

They lapsed into silence for a while as each thought over the repercussions of Don's words. Raph moved on to a new pile while still keeping Don in sight. As he knocked a few things out of his way a huge smile formed on his face.

"Yo Don," Raph called out. "I don't know about that whole coat thing but if you're our cloth then I'd say we can make a pretty awesome coat."

"What are you talking about Raph?" Don asked as he walked towards the sound of his voice.

"I'm talking about this," Raph answered proudly as he held up a slightly dented box containing a Nintendo Wii. "Think you could make sure this works and give in to the nutball?"

"Raph that's amazing!" Don exclaimed. "The store probably threw it out when they couldn't sell it because of the damaged packaging. It's most likely perfectly fine. Mikey will love this."

Launching himself at Raph he almost knocked the box out of his hands as he plastered his lips to his lover's. "I'd say you're some pretty good cloth too Raphie."


	60. Saying Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 29th - Writer's Choice (Leap)

It was late and everyone else had gone to bed over an hour ago but Raph and Don were still up. The movie Leap Year was on and Don had wanted to watch it. Raph had decided to stay up with him because it gave them a good chance to snuggle close together on the couch with no one the wiser.

The movie went onto a commercial and Don turned his head so that it was resting in the crease of Raph's neck. He absolutely loved the scent that Raph gave off. It was completely unique and totally him. The muscles on his shoulder also made for a very nice pillow and if Don wasn't careful he could very easily end up falling against his mate before the movie was over.

"I don't get the big deal is about leap year. It's just an extra day added on to the end of February," Raph commented.  
Don just buried his nose farther in Raph's neck for a moment and enjoyed the rumblings from his voice. "There actually is a scientific reason for having a leap year every four years," Don said sleepily. "The rotation of the Earth around the sun actually takes about three hundred sixty-five and one quarter days. Every four years those quarters add into a full day."

Raph thought about that for a minute. He wasn't sure at first if Don was telling the truth or if he was just messing with him. Knowing Don he could make up something like that and tell it to him with such a straight face that it would sound true. After a minute of thinking Raph decided that it sounded reasonable enough.

"All right, answer me this genius," Raph challenged. "So what if there are quarter days that get left over."

"Well those quarters add up into whole days and those days add up into weeks and then months. If you don't take them into account every four years with a leap year then the whole calendar matching up to the different seasons gets thrown off." Don explained.

That also sounded reasonable to Raph. Glancing up at the tv he noticed that the movie was back on and thought of a question that he was sure would stump Don.

"So, if leap year is for the purpose of keeping the calendar in line with the seasons than what's up with this whole women proposing to men on leap day and they have to say yes thing?" Raph asked smugly.

That caught Don a bit off guard. He had been expecting another question on the scientific reasons for leap year, not something based on a romantic comedy.

"You know Raph," Don began cautiously. "It is just a movie. It isn't meant to be taken seriously. And even for people that do believe in it, it's just a tradition because leap day only happens once every four years so people think that it's special. Why, are you afraid I'll ask you to marry me and you'll have to say yes?"

Raph just burst out laughing at Don's response. No matter what he did, Don was always quick on his feet. "No I ain't scared of that." Raph answered. "You aren't a girl so I wouldn't have to say yes. I may be a little worried for Casey though. April's the kind that would want to settle down and she is Irish."

"Maybe we should give him a call tomorrow," Don yawned. "I'm heading up to bed. Want to join me?

"Now that's something I don't mind saying yes to."


	61. Cleaning Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 1st - Hot

Practice was over for the day and Mikey had won the fight for the first shower after much elbowing between him and Raph. Don and Leo had chosen to stay out of that fight for their own safety. Leo headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea before retreating to his room for some morning meditation. Don made his way to his lab to answer an email that Leatherhead had sent him last night.

Grumbling, Raph followed behind Don and sat down at a smaller desk that Don had cleared up for him. Since Raph had been helping him with his online business Don had decided to give Raph his own space in the lab. Right now Raph was working on fixing a small bedside clock radio.

Raph had initially been surprised to find that he kind of enjoyed fixing small things with Don. Part of was definitely the fact that he got to spend some nice quality time with his mate but that wasn't all of it. At least a small part was that fixing electronics wasn't too different from working on his shell cycle and that was something that he loved to do.

"Donnie!" Mikey's whining voice suddenly invaded the lab. Mikey walked in dripping wet, shivering, and leaving a puddle of water where he was standing. "Donnie, something's wrong with the water heater. The shower isn't spraying any hot water and that doesn't make for a good shower dude," Mikey continued to whine.

"Serves you right for shoving me out of the way to get first dibs," snorted Raph.

"I'll look at it in a minute Mikey," Don assured him. "Now go dry off. You're dripping everywhere."

Mikey huffed and stomped out of the lab to go dry off and try to warm up. Don closed out of his email and reached for his toolbox.

"You don't have to jump up just because the nutball doesn't want to take a cold shower you know," Raph said trying to convince Don to stay with him.

"It's not just for Mikey," Don pointed out. "We all need to take a shower and we need hot water for other things too. I guess it's a good thing we went to the junkyard the other night. I might end up needing those spare parts for the water heater."

~

After about forty-five minutes Don declared the water heater fixed. He had looked over the TP pressure valve and the drain valve to make sure that they were working properly. If they weren't they could hurt the efficiency of the heater and make harder for the water to get hot.

While Don had been working with the valves he had also taken the time to clean out the sediment that had settled to the bottom of the heater. After having been messing with the sediment he was now covered in it. His arms and shoulders were covered in an almost muddily mixture which had also made its way to his forehead when he had gone to wipe away sweat.

This was how Raph found him when he came to find Don to show off the clock radio that he had finished fixing. When Raph turned the corner to the room where the water heater was kept he just stopped and stared at Don for a minute. Once he realized what he was seeing he burst out laughing and couldn't stop.

"I thought you were supposed to be fixing the water heater not taking a mud bath," laughed Raph.

"Ha, ha," Don said sarcastically. "Very funny. Mikey can wait to take his shower. I'm getting in now to clean all of this muck off of me."

Don stalked away just leaving Raph standing there laughing. His laugh caught in his throat and his mouth went dry however when he saw a bit of mud clinging to the tip of Don's tail. Leaving the clock sitting on top of the water heater Raph followed after Don and snuck into the bathroom while the shower was running.

Quickly stripping himself of his gear he walked into the shower behind Don and wrapped his arms around him pulling him up against his plastron.

"You have no idea how hot you look right now Don," Raph mumbled into his neck.

"What are you doing in here Raph?" Don hissed

"You had some mud on your tail and I thought you might want some help washing it off and I'm more than willing to lend a hand," growled Raph.

Reaching down, he ran his wet hand over Don's tail until all the mud was gone. Don moaned at the shiver that travelled up his spine at Raph's action.

"There, all clean," Raph said lowly.

"I think there might be a few other spots that are dirty," Don groaned. "Do you think that you could help me clean them?"

"I think I can manage that," Raph said as he soaped up his finger and lightly breached Don's entrance. Don churred at the feeling of Raph moving his finger in and out of him. "Shh Donnie. You don't want the others to hear us in here now do you?"

Don nodded his head as Raph snaked his other hand around to Don's front and began to rub against his slit where his hardening dick was.

"Drop down Donnie," Raph growled in his ear.

Don dropped into Raph's hand with a nearly silent moan. Raph tickled Don's member lightly with the soap bubbles that he had gathered on his hand while he slipped another finger into his ass. Don bit his lips to try and keep his churrs contained as he leaned forward and braced himself against the shower wall.

Raph was pumping his cock in earnest now as Don worked to keep his moans quieter than the sound of the running water. When Raph's fingers hit his prostate dead on Don could no longer hold on. He came into Raph's hand with a soft cry as his body shook through his orgasm. Gently Raph lowered Don to the floor as his legs turned to jelly.

"Raph, what about you?" Don panted.

"I'm fine Don," Raph told him as he nuzzled his cheek. "This was for you."

Reluctantly Raph pulled away and stood up. "I'm gonna head out so no one sees us leaving together. Don't take too long though. I don't want to listen to the knucklehead complaining about not having any hot water."


	62. As Long As You Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 2nd - Cold

Don shivered as he worked on fixing the sensor. He was out in a remote sewer tunnel in the middle of the night and he wasn't very happy about it. The sensor had unexpectedly malfunctioned and woken the entire lair when it set off the alarm and now Don was out here trying to fix it.

_At three o'clock that morning everyone had been roused from their beds when the loud shrieking of the alarm echoed throughout the lair. Within moments everyone was gathered in the living room with their weapons at the ready. Don rushed by his brothers and headed straight for his lab to check which sensor had set off the alarm. Tapping quickly on his keyboard Don brought up his security system._

_"It's coming from section E, tunnel 5," Don called to his brothers. "I'm bringing up the video surveillance for that area now."_

_A new window with multiple sections popped up on Don's computer screen. It showed a live feed of the different tunnels in that area. The one outlined in a red line that kept blinking on and off was the one where the sensor had picked up the disturbance._

_Don's brothers gathered closed together behind him so they could get a look at the screen too. As they all leaned forward to take a closer look at the screen they were startled when a furry face suddenly appeared on the monitor._

_"What the shell is that Donnie?" Mikey asked with a hand pressed over his plastron trying to calm his racing heart._

_"It looks like a red squirrel," Don answered. "It probably took shelter in the sewers to get out of the cold. My guess is that it was chewing on the wires to the sensor and that's what set it off. I designed them so that if anyone tampered with it, it would automatically set off the alarm."_

_"Well can you at least shut off the alarm," Raph grumbled. "It's getting really annoying."_

_With a few quick strokes to the keyboard the noise ended. Sighing Don reached beneath his desk and picked up his toolbox. "I'll go fix the sensor. I shouldn't be gone more than half an hour. If I am, I'll call someone and let them know."_

That was how Don came to be freezing his tail off in the bitterly cold sewer tunnel in the middle of the night.

"Stupid squirrel. Stupid sensor," Don grumbled.

As soon as the sensor was fixed Don half jogged half ran back to the lair. Walking into his lab Don put his tools away and pulled up the security system to make sure that his fix and taken complete effect. He didn't want to have to make another trip out there tonight.

Once he knew that everything was in order Don turned off the lights in his lab and made his way upstairs. Slowly he turned into Raph's room and climbed into the hammock next to him.

"Donnie," mumbled Raph as he wrapped his arms around his smaller mate without any thought. "You're freezing cold."

"And you're as warm as a space heater," Don answered back. "Can I stay with you for a little while? I just need to warm up a bit."

Raph pulled Don close so that he was tucked right up against him to help warm him up faster. "You can stay as long as you like Donnie. You can always stay as long as you like."


	63. Fear Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 3rd - Fear

Raph and Don were in the dojo cleaning it from top to bottom. At the beginning of every month everyone always pitched in and cleaned the entire lair. With five males living together in one place, things tended to get messy quickly and not be picked up right away.

So far in the dojo they had already taken up the mats they practiced on and cleaned them. They were now hanging over the upper railing in the main part of the lair to dry. Now they had moved on to working with the weapons. While they all took care of their own individual weapons, the practice ones needed to be cleaned, polished, and made sure that they were all still in working order.

Raph liked to watch Don's nimble fingers slide across the weapons as he cleaned them. He was always so precise in his actions. No movements were ever wasted. Raph knew for a fact just how talented those fingers could be.

"The week is almost up," Raph declared suddenly as he concentrated on getting all of the flecks of dirt off of the shuriken.

"Yes," Don agreed. "Generally speaking most people do consider Saturday to be the end of the week."

"That's not what I meant," responded Raph without looking up from what he was doing. "This past Sunday we agreed that sometime within this week we would tell the rest of our family about us. Tomorrow the week will be up."

"Oh," said Don quietly as his hands stilled on the sword that he was polishing.

Raph slid over so that he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Don. "Hey what is it Don? Did you change your mind about wanting to tell them?" Raph asked soothingly.

"No!" Don answered quickly. "No. I haven't changed my mind. We do need to tell them and they do deserve to know. It's just that I thought by now I would have figured out the right way to tell them. I mean how do you tell your family that not only are you gay but you're also dating your brother? I guess I'm still afraid of how they'll react."

"Oh Don," Raph shushed him as he put an arm around Don's shoulder. "I'm afraid too. But no matter what they say I'm not giving you up. We'll just have to show them that what we have is real and not just some fling. That our relationship won't hurt the family or our team."

Raph nuzzled Don' cheek with his own to get Don to look at him in the eye. "Besides, we already know that Leo is okay with you being gay. He told you so himself. And he better be okay with me considering he is too. So that's half of the battle already won. And you don't have to think of something to say all on your own you know. We're in this together and we'll think of something together."

Don leaned in and gave Raph a quick peck. "You're right of course. I'm just worrying for nothing. After all, 'all we have to fear is fear itself'."

Raph burst out laughing at Don's rendition of Roosevelt's most famous quote. "That is certainly one way to look at it. As long as we stick together, as a couple, as a team, as a family, than there is nothing that we have to fear. I will always have your back Donnie."

Don leaned into Raph's embrace and rested his head on Raph's shoulder for just a moment before pulling back to look at Raph directly. "I know you do. Just like I have yours. We'll tell them tomorrow. We'll know how they feel and we can take it from there. We won't have to sneak around in fear, afraid of being caught and found out. We'll know where we stand. For better or for worse."

"Either way, I'll be right by your side," Raph promised placing a tender kiss on Don's lips.


	64. Coming Clean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 4th - Shame

Normally Sunday breakfast was a fun and relaxed affair. There was nothing that they were required to do during the day, no mandatory practice, and Mikey pulled out all the stops when it came to fixing everyone's favorite foods.

For two members of the family however, breakfast was anything but relaxing. This was the day that Don and Raph were finally going to tell their family about their relationship and it was all they could do to keep their nerves from getting the better of them.

They had chosen to tell their family during breakfast for two reasons. One was that they all tended to be more relaxed during breakfast and therefore more likely to better receive their news. The other was so that they got it done and out of the way so that they weren't worrying about it all day.

This didn't mean that either Raph or Don was going to blurt their news out at the beginning of breakfast. They chose to wait right until the moment that Master Splinter was about to retire from the kitchen.

"Sensei, if you could wait a moment please," Don said before his father could leave the table. "Raph and I have something that we need to tell the family."

Splinter sat back down and looked at his two middle sons expectantly. Leo and Mikey stared at them curiously as they waited for their brothers to speak. Don took a shuddering breath and looked to Raph, not sure where to start. Raph reached over and gave Don's hand a gentle squeeze.

"There's no easy way to say this," Don began hesitantly. "But for the past few months Raph and I have been expanding upon our familial relationship."

"And in what way have you expanded your relationship?" asked Master Splinter calmly.

"To that of a romantic relationship," Don answered quietly waiting for his family's reaction.

"I see," responded Master Splinter.

"It's not Don's fault," Raph jumped in suddenly. "I was the one that asked him out. I was the one that started all of this. If anyone is to be blamed than it should be me."

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they tried to take in everything that had just been said. 

"Do either of you feel shame in this new relationship of yours?" Master Splinter asked.

"No!" Raph and Don exclaimed together.

Splinter merely folded his paws on top of the table while Leo and Mikey looked back and forth between him and their brothers not sure what to make of everything yet. "Then why do you feel that I will react angrily and cast blame upon either of you?"

"You're not angry sensei?" Raph asked somewhat surprised.

"No my son," Splinter answered with a gentle smile. "I have noticed your bond with Donatello growing stronger as of late. All of the changes appear to me to be of a positive nature. I had not known it had grown to such an attachment but it is not completely unexpected."

"You mean you thought that this would happen?" Don asked.

"I had considered it a possibility," Splinter said. "We are alone in the world for the most part and it would not be unheard of to think that you would seek a closer companionship then that which brothers can provide."

Raph and Don relaxed at their father's words and the approval to their relationship that they gave. The tension that had been building in the kitchen from the moment that Don had said that he and Raph had something to tell the family seemed to dissipate.

"Dude I knew it," Mikey exclaimed. "I knew there was something going on between you two. Remember Don? I asked you almost two months ago why you were hanging out with Raph so much."

Don smiled at his younger brother's enthusiasm. "Yes Mikey. I do remember," Don told him. "I didn't want to lie to you. It was just so new at the time and I was afraid that you guys wouldn't look at us the same if you knew about us."

"Dude, you guys are our brothers. Nothing will ever change that," Mikey informed them reaching over to grasp Leo's wrist as Raph had done to Don's earlier. "Right Leo?"

Leo didn't answer for a moment and remained staring at his brothers with a contemplative expression on his face. "I have no problem with you having a relationship," Leo said carefully. "What concerns me is the effect that it will have on this team. Our team relies on balance between the four of us and with you two paired off I am afraid of the way it will affect that balance in this team."

"If that is your only fear Leo then you have nothing to fear," Don reassured him. "We have been together since to beginning of the year and since then have been in battle. We have never favored the other over you or Mikey and we never will."

"Then I have no objection," said Leo with a small grin.

The smiles that blossomed on Raph and Don's faces threatened to split them open with how wide they were. Their family had given them their approval with no real fight and they couldn't be happier. As everyone prepared to leave the kitchen to go about their day Raph pulled Don to the side and gave him a gentle kiss in front of their family just because he could. They no longer had to hide their feelings for each other and both planned on taking full advantage of that fact.


	65. Annoying Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 5th - Animals

Raph grabbed a soda out of the fridge as he looked around the lair to see what everyone else was doing. His eyes stopped when he spotted Don sitting comfortably on the couch watching something sciency on the tv. He couldn't help but smile as he casually strolled over to the couch and plopped down beside Don. Reaching one arm around his smaller mate, Raph pulled Don nearly all the way onto his lap as he got comfortable.

"Raph," Don laughed as he settled himself more comfortably across Raph's legs. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm just sitting on the couch, in the middle of the lair, in the middle of the day, with my incredibly amazing boyfriend," Raph said proudly.

Don just shook his head in amusement as he leaned back into Raph's hold. Truth be told, Don was also giddy about the fact that they could sit together like this without worrying about being caught and what the others might think.

"So what are you watching Donnie?" Raph asked curiously as he stared at the screen trying to figure it out.

"It's a National Geographic program," Don answered as he stole a sip of Raph's soda. "It's about different species of turtles from all around the world. It's quite interesting to watch our unmutated counterparts."

Just as Raph was about to comment on the things that Don found interesting Mikey came bounding into the living and jumped over the back of the couch nearly landing on top of them. "Hey guy. How's it going?" Mikey asked innocently.

"It was going just fine until someone decided to use us as a landing strip," Raph growled as he pulled Don back into place on his lap.

"Someone's just grumpy because I interrupted the two lovebirds," Mikey teased.

"Well I'm grumpy since someone decided to jump on top of me when I was trying to watch a show about unmutated turtles," Don said irritably.

Before Mikey could respond all three turned towards the tv when they heard a load squeaking coming from the speakers. On the screen were two painted turtles that were shown on some rocks next to a pond. The thing that caught their attention was that fact that one of the turtles was on top of the other rocking back and forth making a loud squeaking sound.

"Dude. Are they doing what I think they're doing?" Mikey asked.

"If you're asking if those turtles are having sex, then yes they are Mikey," Don said deciding to tease his brother. "Do I need to explain this to you how that works?"

"No dude. I think I got it," Mikey said quickly. Suddenly a wicked smile spread across Mikey's face. "Though I am a little curious about something. Do you two make that sound when you're going at it?"

The expression on Don and Raph's faces were priceless. "Just because we're a couple doesn't mean we behave like animals. Unlike a certain brother that I could name," Raph shot back.

"Besides," Don cut in before things turned into an all out argument. "Are you really saying that you don't know what one of us sounds like when we become aroused Mikey? I'm surprised. I guess I really do need to have The Talk with you."

Mikey's face paled at Don's suggestion. "No I'm good. Really. I'm gonna leave and let the two of you get back to your turtle porn," Mikey said as he got up and practically ran out of the living room.

"And that is how you get rid of an annoying little brother," Don said proudly as he settled back down on Raph's lap to keep watching his show.


	66. Flooding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 6th - Toilet

Don had been working hard all day long and he was tired. It seemed like everything in the lair that could possibly break had been broken by someone. The only one that hadn't broken anything so far that day was Raph, something for which Don was extremely grateful for and had said as much.

Leo had managed to do something to the spring mechanism in the toaster that morning when he was trying to help Mikey make breakfast. Mikey had crushed another video game controller when he began hitting the buttons too hard when Mario wouldn't jump all the way across a pit. Even Master Splinter had somehow managed to crack his favorite teapot and had asked Don if there was any way that he could fix it.

Don was just drifting off for a well-deserved nap in his room when he was brought back to the real world by someone knocking at his door. Groaning Don reluctantly left his bed and stumbled his way to the door. "Someone better be dying," Don muttered grumpily as he jerked open the door quickly.

Outside of his room stood Raph looking very shamefaced. "Hey Donnie," Raph began almost too casually. "I hope I wasn't disturbing you from working or anything."

"I actually wasn't working," Don told him trying hard to be patient for the one brother that hadn't gotten on his nerves today. "I had finished my work and was trying to take a quick nap."

"Oh. Well I, um… You see the thing is…" Raph just couldn't find the words, especially with how tired Don looked.

Don sighed knowing that he wouldn't be getting that nap any time soon. "What's broken?"

"It's the toilet," Raph finally managed to blurt out.

That caught Don's attention. Of all the things he thought that Raph might say was broken, the toilet certainly wasn't one of the. After all, it was pretty hard to break a toilet.

"How bad?" Don asked as he stepped out of his room and made his way to the stairs.

"Not too bad," Raph tried to reassure him although it was a little too late for that. "It's just the pipe that connects the toilet to the wall. It's cracked and leaking water everywhere. I already put a bucket underneath it so it would stop flooding the bathroom and out into the hallway."

Don just nodded as he tried to think of what Raph might not be telling him about the situation. After making a quick stop in his lab to grab his tools he changed course and made his way to the bathroom door. When he opened the door and looked inside his jaw dropped.

The floor was completely soaked in at least an inch of water and while a bucket had been put in place it was too little too late. There were towels spread all over the floor in the hopes of soaking up the water but were only becoming drenched themselves.

"How long did you wait to come and get me and how on earth did you manage to break the toilet?" Don asked incredulously.

"I think I've been trying to fix it for about twenty minutes now," Raph answered. "I knew how tired you were and I didn't want to bother you if I could fix it myself."

Don just shook his head as he went over and kneeled next to the toilet to get a better look at the cracked pipe. "Next time come and get me right away. It's better than letting it get this bad," Don told him. "And you didn't answer my second question. How did you do this?"

"Well I was going to take a shower and I kind of lost my balance and slipped when I was taking off my knee pad," Raph admitted with a blush.

This caused Don to double over laughing and stay like that for a few minutes. When he finally caught his breath he had to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "I know you didn't say that to make me laugh but thank you Raph," Don said with a smile still on his face. "I really needed that."

"Hey," Raph hushed him as he joined his mate on the water covered floor. "Any time you need me I'll be right here. You know that right?"

"Yes I know that," acknowledged Don. "It is nice to hear though."

"Well any time you need to hear it, just let me know," assured Raph. "Now let’s get this fixed before anyone else finds out."


	67. Stuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 7th - Alcohol

Something was different about Raph today. Don couldn't put his finger on it for the longest time but he was sure that there was something different. He was sitting on the couch no longer even bothering to pretend to do work, just staring at his older brother hitting his punching bag in the doorway of the dojo.

After a few minutes of just staring it finally dawned on Don. Raph was humming. Thinking back on it he had been humming almost all day long now. Don wasn't sure what he put his brother in such a good mood but now he was determined to figure it out.

There hadn't been any fights with Leo lately but that wasn't really a cause for humming. Mikey hadn't gotten under his skin to play any pranks in at least a week but that just usually put Raph on edge watching for a new one and didn't lend itself to humming throughout the day either.

Don tried to think and see if it was something that he had done. Even that idea came up empty for the genius since they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary together. At least not out of the ordinary for mates that is. While last night may have put Raph in a good mood for this morning Don wasn't convinced that it would lead him to be humming all day long.

Finally Don just couldn't take it anymore. He had to know what had put Raph in such a good mood that he went around humming all day since that was out of character for him. "Raph, what on earth are you humming?" Don asked. "You've been doing it all day long and I can't figure out what would have put you in such a good mood to be humming all day long."

"Oh I'm not in a good mood," Raph told Don. Realizing what he just said he hurried to correct himself. "Not that I'm in a bad mood. I'm just not humming because I'm in a good mood. I've just had this song stuck in my head all day. I went up to the garage this morning before practice to work on my bike and I was listening to the radio and I got one of the songs stuck in my head."

"What song?" Don asked.

"Alcohol by Brad Paisley," answered Raph. "It's just a song about what alcohol makes people do when they get drunk."

Don tilted his head to the side as he stared at his brother. "That's it? You've just been humming because you had a song stuck in your head?" Don asked incredulously. "I've been sitting over on the couch for the past fifteen minutes trying to figure out what put you in such a good mood. I wasn't able to concentrate on my work because I couldn't stop thinking about it and it turns out to just be a stupid song."

"Well now you know how I feel right about now," Raph told him.

Don just shook his head in exasperation and walked away to try and get some real work done. Unfortunately all he could think about now was the time he had wasted.


	68. Relaxing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 8th - Street

Don was aimlessly walking through the sewer tunnel by himself. It was late at night but he just couldn't sleep and thought that maybe a walk would help to dispel some of his restless energy. He had made sure to leave a note on the kitchen counter saying where he was, the probable route that he would take, and when he planned to return. He had also remembered to grab his shell cell. The last thing he wanted was a lecture from Leo when he returned home.

After walking for over half an hour Don came to a stop under one of the grates that looked up to the streets above. This particular grate was one of his favorites to sit under. It was clean, relatively speaking for a sewer tunnel. It also had an almost straight view up to the sky. On clear nights he could even see the stars, which was a rare treat.

The stars were obscured tonight but it was a warm night with a pleasant breeze that snaked its way down to him. Carefully Don set his bag down and lowered himself to the ground and stared up at street above. He may not have been able to look at the stars but he could watch the humans that walked along the sidewalk. It was very relaxing for him and he felt himself drifting off into a light doze.

Don was roused from his doze when he felt someone approaching the tunnel he was sitting in. In a flash he was up on his feet with his bo out in front, standing in a defensive position. Much to Don's surprise it was Raph that stepped out of the shadows.

"Did I startle you out of your nap Donnie-boy?" Raph asked with a smirk.

"I was just dozing. I wasn't fully asleep," Don countered defensively. "I was up and on my feet the moment I sensed that someone was there."

Raph walked over closer to Don as he lowered his bo. "True but I had been standing there for a minute before you even noticed me. If I were the Foot you would be dead right now. If you were so tired why'd you come all the way out here?"

"I wasn't tired when I left the lair. That was the problem," Don answered. "I thought a walk might help me get rid of some of my energy. I hadn't planned on almost falling asleep. Why did you follow me out here anyway?"

"I was thirsty so I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I saw your note on the counter and noticed that you had been gone longer then the hour it said you would be. I used my shell cell to track you and found you falling asleep out here."

"Oh," said Don. "I didn't mean to worry you. I guess I just lost track of time. I love coming out here to look up at the street. It's just so relaxing right here. On clear nights I can even see the stars and since I'm still in the sewers and not topside Leo can't lecture me about it."

Raph laughed at the last part. "You sure do have this all figured out Don. We should head back now before Leo notices that we're gone and panics."

"Yeah, you're right," Don said as he picked up his bag and took Raph's hand in his own as they made their way back to the lair. "Thanks for checking up on me."

"Not a problem Donnie. Not a problem at all."


	69. Tickle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 9th - Stop

"Donnie!" Raph cried out as he exploded inside of his mate. With a few quick jerks to Don's penis, Don climaxed quickly in Raph's hand. It was the second time making love that night and it was no less powerful than the first. As they both came down from their high Raph pulled out of Don and moved to lay beside him. Don snuggled up close to Raph as they both took a moment to catch their breaths.

"Damn Don," Raph panted. "That was amazing."

"I agree," Don gasped.

Rolling onto his side, Raph pulled Don even closer to him and nuzzled his neck. Raph loved Don's own scent but the smell of himself on Don, marking him as his own was very arousing. As he inhaled deeply he could feel himself hardening inside his shell again.

Slowly Raph dragged the pads of his fingers up Don's exposed side between plastron and shell. This small action caused shivers to run up Don's spine and for him to arch slightly into Raph's touch.

Raph smirked at the reaction and ran his fingers back down digging them into flesh a bit more as he went. Instead of earning a moan from Don like he had been expecting Don started to wiggle away from him. Raph looked down to try and catch Don's eye to see what was wrong but Don wouldn't look at him and was biting his lip.

Experimentally Raph dug his fingers into Don's side again. A stifled squeak managed to make its way past Don's lips as he tried to subtly move away from Raph's probing hands. The realization struck Raph all of a sudden. Don was ticklish and he didn't want Raph to know about it.

With an evil smirk and all the ninja speed he possessed, Raph quickly flipped himself over until he was on top of Don, pinning him to the mattress.

"Something the matter Don?" Raph asked as he continued to wiggle his fingers around the sensitive flesh of Don's sides.

"No I'm good," Don squeaked out as he continued to try and wiggle away from Raph.

In the end though Raph won out and Don couldn't contain his laughter any more. Sensing victory Raph continued on, finding new, more sensitive spots to grab and tickled. At this point Don was laughing so hard he was crying and his breaths were coming in gasps.

"Stop! Stop, Raph stop. Please," Don pleaded as he tried to find respite from Raph's relentless fingers.

Raph finally pulled his fingers away as he allowed his mate to catch his breath. While he waited Raph stared down at Don's face. He was flushed and gasping and it made the arousal that Raph had felt before the tickling began to flare up even higher.

Without warning Raph swooped down and took Don's lips with his own. Their tongues battled together as Raph wormed his way in between Don's legs and released his rapidly hardening organ.

Raph pulled away so they both could breathe for a minute. "You have no idea how hot you look right now Don. How much I want you."

"Let's go for three than shall we?"

Without waiting any further, Raph plunged into his mate's willing body for the third time that night. It was a good thing they didn't have to get up for morning practice tomorrow.


	70. Not Too Loud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 10th - Go

Don and Leo were sitting together at the kitchen table playing Go. It was a game that they both enjoyed playing against each other. They continued to push each other when it came to strategizing and the tactics that they used during the game. For the most part they were equally matched and that made for very close and exciting games.

It was quiet in the lair at the moment and they both intended to make the most of it. When Raph and Don had come downstairs that morning they had been spotted by Mikey leaving Don's room together. This meant that he felt the overwhelming need to mercilessly tease the two of them throughout the day about it. Raph took offense to this and proceeded to chase Mikey around the lair and into the sewer tunnels as he tried to escape.

They had been gone now for over an hour and Don and Leo knew that their time of quiet would most likely be ending soon. Either Mikey would outrun Raph and would circle back to the lair or Mikey would find a hiding place and Raph would come back to the lair and pound on him later. When they heard the door to the lair open both Leo and Don turned so they see who it was coming back.

"Mikey better not show his face around here for a while," Raph grumbled as he closed the door behind him.

"You just left him alone out there," asked Leo as he looked down at the board and passed his turn when he saw no useful move that he could make.

Raph walked into the kitchen so he could talk to them without having to yell across the lair. "News flash Leo. Mikey's a big boy. If he can't take care of himself in the sewers by himself then he shouldn't have run out there," griped Raph.

"If you're so worried about him than why don't you go out and look for Mikey, Leo," Don asked. "You don't even have to forfeit the game because I also pass so the game's over and by my calculations I have more points, therefore I win."

Leo looked down and the board and saw the Donnie was indeed correct. He had lost this game. "In that case I think I will go and search for Mikey and make sure that he's all right. Just remember that Splinter's in the other room so don't get too loud," Leo teased as he headed for the door that would take him out into the tunnels.

"Fearless has been spending way too much time with the knucklehead," Raph commented. As Don cleared off the board Raph took the seat the Leo had just vacated. "So what game is this again?" Raph asked curiously.

"It's called Go," Don said as he started to explain it. "It's a game that was popular in ancient China. It's very much strategy based. The point is to keep your opponent from gaining ground while using as few of your own pieces as possible."

"Will you teach me?" asked Raph as he pulled the black pieces over to his side.

Don looked somewhat surprised by Raph's request. "Sure if you want me to," he answered. "Where did this sudden interest come from?"

"Well you seem to really like the game and I figure that I could at least give it a try," Raph explained. "I know you have Leo to play with and I don't mind that but I'd like to be able to play as well."

Don smiled at Raph's simple logic. "In that case I don't mind teaching you," Don said as he finished sorting out the black and white pieces. He then began explaining the many rules to Go and the main objective of the game. He pointed out the different positions on the boards and told Raph a few tips about where and when he would want to place his pieces.

Don had been talking for a good ten minutes and it didn't seem like they were about to start playing any time soon. "Don," Raph interrupted. "I think I've changed my mind. This just sounds way too complicated and boring. You and Leo have fun playing."

"You sure about that Raphie?" Don asked innocently.

"Yeah I'm sure. You and Leo should have some stuff that just the two of you do," Raph said adamantly. "Now why don't I help you clean up here and you and I go do something that just the two of us will do together."

"That sounds like a perfect idea," Don early purred as he quickly swiped all of the pieces back into their box. "Remember though, we just can't be too loud."

"I think we can manage that," Raph said as he reached around and tweaked Don's tail before pulling him towards the bedrooms. Raph did feel a little bad though. Don was definitely going to be sore during practice that evening.


	71. Oxymoron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 11th - Good Morning

Master Splinter, Leo, and Mikey were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying the blueberry pancakes that Mikey had made for breakfast that morning. Raph sleepily stumbled into the room and sat down at his normal seat and pulled a plate over to his spot.

"Morning Raphie. Have a long night?" Mikey asked in a sing-song voice meant to annoy him.

"Don't call me that," Raph grumbled. "I don't like getting up early and I just want some pancakes. If you hadn't made breakfast I'd still be in bed."

"And where's Donnie?" Leo asked getting his teasing in for the day.

Raph glared at him for a moment as he cut off a large chunk of his pancake and shoved it into his mouth. "You know Leo, just cause Don and I are a couple doesn't mean we spend every night together," Raph informed him.

Master Splinter just smiled at his sons' conversation as he took delicate bites from his pancake. As long as no one was being hurt by the teasing, he was content to sit back and watch the conversation unfold. As far as Splinter was concerned it was almost as entertaining as one of his stories.

The three brothers continued talk amongst themselves when Don stumbled into the kitchen looking more like a zombie than a turtle. Going over to the cupboards he pulled out the biggest mug there was and poured coffee into it right up to the brim. Replacing the coffee pot back on the counter, Don took a big drink from the mug ignoring the way it almost burned his mouth from how hot it was.

Don rolled his neck around trying to work out the kinks that had formed overnight as he made his way over to the table. Taking the last open seat that was next to Raph, Don sat down and leaned his head on Raph's shoulder.

"Good morning Donnie," Leo chuckled as he speared a few pancakes, put them on a plate, and slid them in front of Don.

"That's about the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard," grumbled Don. With a sigh he took another drink from his mug with one hand and used the other to rub at the back of his neck.

"Did you not sleep well?" Raph asked concerned. He carefully shifted in his chair to look more at Don without having his head slide off of his shoulder.

Don just sighed as he sat up straight again. "No I slept alright," he answered as he took a bite of pancake. "It's just the way I slept. I fell asleep at my computer and now my neck and shoulders are all knotted up and it's giving me a headache."

"Poor Don," Raph said as he moved his chair as that he was sitting completely behind Don.

Gently he brought his hands up and began to rub them over Don's neck and shoulders in a soothing, circular manner. Don for his part just sighed and leaned back into Raph's touch. It never failed to amaze him how hands that were so tough and scarred from battle, hands that were strong enough to break just about anything, could be so gentle and comforting.

"So I don't get it Don," Mikey said all of a sudden. "How is Leo saying good morning to you an oxymoron?"

"Well an oxymoron is a saying that contradicts itself," explained Don. "And I for one don't think that this morning can exactly be considered something good. At least most of it isn't."

Reluctantly he pulled away from Raph's gentle hands with a smile. The knots were gone from his neck and shoulders and he felt more awake and alert now. While it may not have started out as a good morning when he first woke up, today did have the makings to turn into a pretty good day.


	72. Sleepy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 12th - Goodnight

So far the day had been a long one for all of the brothers. Still getting used to the time change for daylight savings time on Sunday, they were all tired for practice that morning. Being tired lead to slower reaction times for all of them, including Leo. This in turn led to more hits and more bruises.

After a long practice and a few new bruises to show for it Don and Raph had made their way to Don's lab. Don planned on working on some coding that he needed for an update on the security system. Raph meanwhile planned on working on a few things from the lair that had been broken or needed replacing in the past week.

Raph learning how to fix up things for their online business helped Don out immensely. Not only was Raph able to help out with the things that were put on their website but the skills also transferred over into the things that needed fixing around the lair. This in turn left Don with more time for personal projects and gave them a reason to hang out together during the day.

The family had just finished up dinner for the night and was retiring to the living room to catch a movie together. There wasn't any clean up from dinner, all they had were sandwiches since no one was in the mood to make anything big, so they were all able to gather together to decide on a movie to watch. Master Splinter was the only exception having gone to bed early.

Mikey wanted to watch a comedy while Raph was insisting upon an action movie. Leo was adamant about not wanting to watch a movie with pointless violence in it and Don didn't have much of an opinion to offer. He thought that he would be lucky to stay up for even half of it.

Don had taken a seat on Raph's lap at his insistence and was quiet comfortable leaning back in his arms. Raph's shoulder made the perfect pillow and the body heat that he gave off left Don warm and drifting in between wakefulness and sleep. The only way things could get better was if his brothers would stop arguing about the stupid movie.

"Why don't we just watch The Mummy?" Don asked sleepily. "Mikey you know it has enough funny parts to keep you entertained. Raph, you remember the different fight scenes so that makes you happy. And Leo, there is a purpose to the fight scenes and it isn't constant so you should be good with that. Everyone happy now?"

"That sounds perfect Don," Raph said placing a kiss to his temple as Mikey got up and put   
the movie in.

True to his prediction, not even ten minutes into the movie, Don was already sound asleep in Raph's arms. Raph didn't mind too much and just held Donnie closer to make sure he didn't slip away. Once the movie was over Raph carefully slipped one arms around Don's shoulders and the other arms under his knees and lifted him up bridal style.

Mikey was asleep, splayed out on the couch but Raph decided to let Leo deal with him. With a silent nod to his older brother Raph carried Don upstairs and to Raph's own room. Don had fallen asleep in his arms and he saw no reason to disturb him now. Don did wake up slightly however when Raph was setting him in the hammock.

"Raphie?"

"Don't worry Donnie. We're in my room. Go back to sleep," Raph ordered lightly as he climbed in beside him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Raphie."


	73. All I Want

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 13th - Shooting Stars

It was later on in the evening and the four brothers were out on patrol of the city that they called home. For the first hour or so of their patrol they had run across the rooftops together. They had been chasing one another as they kept an eye out for any crime that might be happening down on the street. Mikey had kept the lead throughout most of the run but the others weren't too far behind him.

After a while Leo had called a stop to their running and they came together to take a quick break on a rooftop in the middle of the city. Once they had a chance to catch their breaths it was decided that they would continue on for another hour but this time they would be splitting up into pairs.

Without much conscious thought Don and Raph each took a small step closer to each other when Leo announced that. Though the movement was small, Leo still noticed it.

"Don't worry. I had already planned on pairing the two of you together," Leo assured them. "If I didn't than whoever I was stuck with would have complained for the rest of the night and I'd rather not deal with that."

With a broad smile on his face Raph gave Leo a slightly mocking salute and started pulling Don to the next rooftop. As they began to run they heard Mikey calling out something about the "lovebirds having fun."

As they ran they played a friendly game of tag. Don held an advantage in the game when he put his bo into play. Using its length he was able to frequently launch himself close enough to Raph to tag him but far enough away to keep himself from being tagged back.

After a few dozen rounds of playing ninja tag Raph and Don found themselves down by the docks and decided to take a little break. The docks were quiet enough that if something happened they would be able to hear it and jump into action. Walking over to the edge of the building they sat down and let their feet dangle over the side.

For the most part they just sat there in silence just enjoying each other's company. It was one of the rare nights that the sky as clear enough that the clouds didn't cover up the stars. Don could barely take his eyes off of them it was so rare a treat. Raph's attention however was divided between staring at the stars and staring at Don.

At one point when he was looking up, Raph saw a streak of light pass through the sky. "Hey Don look. A shooting star," Raph said in amazement. "Make a wish."

Don just smiled and shook his head no. "I can't make a wish Raph," Don explained. "I wasn't the one that saw it. Only the person that sees the shooting star gets to make a wish on it."

"But I have nothing to wish for though," Raph claimed. "I have everything I could ever want sitting right next to me."  
Don was speechless for a moment but the kiss that he placed on Raph's lips said that he felt the exact same way.


	74. Snoring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 14th - Comfort

It was very early in the morning in the lair and everyone was sleeping peacefully in their own rooms. Almost everyone. Don's sleep was anything but peaceful. He'd had a difficult time falling asleep when he went to bed and had spent most of the night tossing and turning around unable to find a comfortable spot to lay on.

Don had finally managed to drift off to sleep in the early morning hours but he still was unable to find any rest. His dreams were filled with dark shapeless images that he could not seem to escape from. No matter where he turned in his dream they were already right there in front of him, cutting of his path to escape.

When he tried calling out for his family he found that he had no voice with which to cry out. He had the feeling though even if he could yell that his family wouldn't be able to hear him anyway. Knowing that he was completely alone caused a helpless feeling to well up inside of him. With this helplessness came an overwhelming sense of panic that even his logical mind could not defeat.

Just as he was about to drown in the sea of his panic Don awoke with a start in his own room. The first thing he did once he knew that he was awake was to turn on the lamp beside his bed and banish the shadows away from him.

Once Don's heartbeat had returned to a more normal level he realized that he probably wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night. That was really too bad considering how tired he felt but the memory of his nightmare was too fresh in his mind to allow him to fall back into slumber.

There was also the problem that even with his light on there were still shadows in his room. While he may not be as paranoid as Mikey and actually believe that there might be monsters hiding in the shadows he was nevertheless unnerved by them. With that in mind Don rose from his bed and planned on heading to his lab and finding something to occupy his time with in there.

As he walked down the hallway he could hear Raph snoring away in his room. Don paused outside of Raph's door and just listened for a moment. While the others may have complained about the noise Raph made when he snored, Don had always found it oddly comforting.

With a change of plans, Don slipped quietly into Raph's room and made his way over to where his lover was sleeping. _Maybe I can try those puppy-dog eyes that Mikey does so well and Raph will let me spend the rest of the night with him_ , Don thought. Figuring that it was at least worth a try Don reached out a hand and gently shook Raph awake.

Raph blinked open his eyes to see who was trying to wake him up in the middle of the night. "What's the matter Donnie?" Raph asked sleepily as he saw Don standing over him.

"I had a nightmare and I wanted to know if I could stay with you," Don said with a slight blush. "Your snoring is just really soothing and I want to be able to go back to sleep."

Without another word Raph slid over in his hammock and made room for Don. "You're always welcome here no matter what Donnie," Raph managed to get out before he feel back asleep while Don snuggled up next to him.

With the sound of Raph snoring in his ear Don felt himself begin to relax again for the first time since waking up from his nightmare. _There really is no feeling more comforting and consoling than knowing you are right next to the one you love_ was Don's last thought before he too was claimed by sleep.


	75. Mating Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 15th - Hormones

The afternoon was going by very slowly in the lair. Morning practice had gotten over hours ago, the breakfast dishes had been put away, it wasn't time for lunch yet, and all of the chores that had to get done were finished.

Mikey had even convinced Leo to go for a run with him in the sewers. Up until that point he had been running around the lair getting on everyone's nerves. Leo had agreed just to keep the peace and because for once Mikey had been the one to initiate some form of training. Master Splinter had also opted to go for a walk in the tunnels to stretch his legs a bit.

This left Raph and Don alone with the lair all to themselves. With nothing better to do they had both ended up on the couch watching the Discovery channel. They were doing a special about exotic animals from around the world and Don had become interested very quickly. While Raph may not have had the same interest in the program, he did like to watch the expressions that flowed across Don's face.

One piece that did catch Raph's attention was when they started talking about procreation among the different species and their mating seasons in the springtime.

"Hey Don. Why don't we have one of those?" Raph asked.

"One of what?" Don inquired back confused at Raph's question.

"A mating season," Raph started to explain. "I mean we are teenagers after all. Most animals start having kids when they're like two or three. I get why we didn't do that then but why not now that we're older."

"Well I suppose it has to do with the mutagen," Don began to answer. "We are mutated from turtles and we do retain some of those base instincts but not all of them. For example we're more warm blooded than our reptilian counterparts. It's most likely due to the more human elements that were introduced to us during the mutation."

Raph thought about that for a moment. "I guess that does make some sense," he said after some thought.

"On the other hand it is a bit surprising that we don't have one," Don continued on now that he thought about it. "After all, the base instincts that we do still posses combined with the rush of hormones that came when we went through puberty like humans do could possibly have created a mating season like effect. That should definitely be something that I pay attention to this spring now that we're together."

"Why wait for the spring when you can observe now?" Raph asked with a lecherous smirk as he shoved Don back onto the couch. Slipping between legs that spread willingly for him Raph covered Don's body with his own. "Want me to get you some paper and a pencil Donnie-boy?"

Don quickly wrapped his legs around Raph's shell to keep him from moving away. "Don't you dare Raphie," Don said as he tightened his hold and drew Raph down for a kiss.

When Raph reached down to play at Don's entrance he found it already slick and wet. Don just chuckled at his shocked expression. "Whose idea do you think it was for Mikey to ask Leo to go on a run with him?"

"You are such a sneak," was the only response Raph could come up with.

Without any more thought Raph dropped down and slid into Don's inviting warmed. The feeling of being filled like that caused Don to release his member as well. Raph took Don's dick in his hand and began to stroke it from base to tip. It was quick and intense with both of them reaching their climaxes quickly.

"So good Don," Raph panted.

"Just imagine what it would be like if we did have a mating season," Don joked as they lay together on the couch. They would have to move and clean up before their family got home but for now they were content to stay as they were.


	76. Misplaced

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 16th - Key

The sun had just set for the day and darkness was settling over the city. This meant that the criminals that roamed the streets at night would soon be emerging and beginning their nightly prowl.

As far as Raph was concerned this wasn't okay. This was his city. His and his brothers' and he intended to do something about it. By now it wasn't an uncommon thing to see Raph going topside at night to go out hunting down criminals and stopping them before they could cause any trouble. Tonight however he was having some problems with heading topside.

First Master Splinter ad called him back to finish cleaning up the dinner dishes and put them away since it was his night to do that chore. When that was done Mikey had pleaded with him to play one video game with him. Raph was all set to say no and stick to it but Mikey had given him his trademark puppy dog eyes and all of Raph's motivation was gone. After Raph had managed to beat Mikey and earn his freedom he was stopped by Leo. He had wanted to know roughly where Raph planned on going, how long he would be gone, and to make sure that he would call if he got into any trouble.

In fact, Donnie was the only one that hadn't stopped Raph from making his trip topside. This didn't mean that Raph was on his way however. This time it was Raph himself that seemed to be standing in his own way. His keys weren't where he remembered leaving them last and he couldn't seem to find them anywhere.

Without his keys he wouldn't be able to take his shell cycle out for a spin. Raph knew that he could go out without his bike but he had really been looking forward to going for a ride on it tonight. That wasn't going to happen though if he couldn't find his keys.

He had already searched through his own room, the garage in case he had left them there, the kitchen, living room, and dojo. He was now on his way to Don's lab to see if he had left them in there the last time he had visited and to see if maybe Don knew where they were.

Raph nearly stomped into the lab with how frustrated he was at the time. Don was at his computer typing away and there, sitting on the corner of his desk, were the keys to Raph's shell cycle.

"What the…!" Raph exclaimed as he grabbed the keys off of the desk. "I've been looking for these everywhere. Why didn't you tell me that you had them?"

Don looked at him with a slightly shocked expression. "That would be because I didn't know that you were looking for them," Don explained. "It's not like you didn't know that I had them though."

"How would I have known that you had my keys?" Raph asked. "I thought that the last place that I put them was in my room."

"It was," Don said. "But I asked you where they were earlier today while you were working with your punching bag. I was going to make some modifications to the engine to make it more efficient and run a little faster remember?"

"Oh yeah. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention at the time," Raph admitted sheepishly.

"Just take your keys and go have fun," Don told him with a small smile and a shake of the head. "And try to come back in one piece."

"I'll do my best," Raph promised with a quick kiss to Don's temple before he turned and nearly ran out of the lair before he could be stopped again.

Don turned back to his computer smiling and brought up his to do list. On there he typed, make a set of spare keys to the shell cycle. That might solve some problems like this in the future.


	77. Switching It Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 17th - Games

Dinner had finished over an hour ago but the whole Hamato family was still full from the delicious food that had been prepared. Mikey had gone above and beyond that night with making a boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage for the main course in honor of it being St. Patrick's Day. Now he was trying to convince them that they just had to have room for his bread pudding.

It took a little cajoling on his part but eventually everyone agreed to at least have a small portion of it. As good as Mikey's dinners were, his desserts were even better and no one wanted to pass that up. As soon as they took those first few bites of pudding they knew that they had made the correct choice and that they did indeed have room for dessert. With full stomachs everyone seemed to be ready to settle down for the night.

Master Splinter excused himself and headed back to his room to settle down and meditate before heading to bed. Mikey planned on watching the movie Leprechaun on tv. It may not have been a traditional sort of St. Patrick's Day movie seeing as it was made as a horror movie but Mikey figured that it was close enough.

He had even managed to convince Leo to stay and watch it with him. Admittedly he had done this by laying across Leo's lap, turning him into a pillow, and refusing to move. After halfhearted attempts to get Mikey to move, Leo had chosen to give up and stay on the couch with his youngest brother.

With nothing better to do, Raph and Don headed upstairs to Don's room. As they laid down in the bed they began exploring bodies that they already knew so well. In between sensual touches they would exchange kisses and nips to anyplace that they could reach.

Gasping slightly Don pulled away from Raph ministrations on his body. "Raph stop for a minute," Don panted.  
"Why? Don't you like what I'm doing Don?" Raph asked as he continued to place kisses along the column of Don's sensitive neck.

"It's not that at all," Don said he finally managed to get Raph to stop and look at him. "Now, not that I don't love what we normally do but I was thinking about maybe switching things up tonight."

"And how exactly do you plan on us doing that Donnie-boy?" Raph asked as he went back to nipping down Don's neck and to his collarbone.

"I was thinking about playing a game and the winner gets whatever he wants in bed tonight," Don said quietly.

This caught Raph's attention and he pulled back on his own to look Don in the face. "Don, have you been unhappy with what we've been doing?" he asked cautiously. 

"No! No, no, no, no, no. I love what we've been doing. It's always so amazing," Don assured him. "This would just add some variety."

"Okay," agreed Raph with a smirk of confidence. "So what kind of game do you want to play?"

"I was thinking that we each try and make the other drop down," Don began to explain. "The first to drop down loses and the winner gets his choice of activity, position, basically whatever he wants."

"So you're going to do whatever I want when I win than?" Raph asked, confident that he would win their game. Without wasting any more time Raph began running one hand up and down Don's side while the other moved over to play along his slit.

Don started moaning in pleasure at Raph's actions but it wasn't enough to make him expose himself. As Raph was doing his thing Don ran his hands over Raph's hips and back to grab at his ass. As he was playing with Raph's ass he continued to moan and churr loudly.

While Raph may have been the one to top before, this meant that Don knew what felt good and what turned Raph on the fastest. Raph always responded quickly to the sounds that Don made and he planned on using that to his full advantage. One hand moved back to Raph's tail and he stroked it until he reached the tip and pinched it lightly while the other brushed over the bulge growing in Raph's lower plastron.

With a loud churr of his own Raph dropped into Don's waiting hand. "I win," Don purred as he pushed Raph onto his back and straddled his waist. "And what I want is to top you tonight."

The shocked expression on Raph's face was priceless as Don leaned down and captured his mouth with his own. Swiftly he eased himself between Raph's legs and reached for the lube sitting on the bedside table. It almost had a permanent spot there with how often they used it. Coating his fingers with lube, Don circled Raph entrance before gently pushing in with one finger and letting Raph get used to the feeling.

This was Don's first time topping Raph and he wanted to make sure that Raph enjoyed it as much as Raph always made him enjoy it. After a minute using one finger Don pushed in a second and scissored them all the while running his other hand over Raph's hardening dick.

"Do you like that Raphie?" Don purred at him.

"Yes Don," Raph churred back as he jerked his hips up looking for more. "I want you now. Please."

Removing his fingers, Don let his own dick drop down and ran his wet hand over it covering it with lube. Once that was done he gently eased himself inside of Raph and gave him a moment to adjust to the intrusion. Raph however wasn't so patient and wrapped his legs around Don and pulled him forward.

"Don't hold back on me now Don," Raph order as he pulled Don forward again.

With a knowing smirk Don pulled back and snapped his hips forward hitting Raph's prostate dead on making him see stars. Continuing at that pace Don took Raph cock firmly in his hand and jerked it in time with his thrusts. The feeling of being encased in Raph's heat was getting to Don and he was climbing towards his peak quickly but he was determined to have Raph finish at the same time.

With a loud churr Raph climaxed in Don's hand and his inner walls clamped down hard on Don's dick inside of him causing Don to release himself deep into Raph's body. Similar groans came from both of them as they rode their waves of pleasure together. As they started to come back down Don gave a few more thrusts until he was milked completely before pulling out of Raph and laying by his side.

"Thank you Raphie," Don gasped. "Thank you for letting me do that."

"Trust me Don," panted Raph. "You don't have to thank me for anything. That was incredible. Believe me when I say that I don't mind us switching positions at all. That was a good game you came up with. I'm gonna want a rematch though."

"I'm not sure I can go again right now Raph," said Don. "I'm about ready to fall asleep."

"Okay than," Raph agreed as Don curled up into his arms. "Sometime soon."

Don just nodded, too sleepy to actually answer as he drifted off to the slight churring still coming from Raph's chest.


	78. Gathering Courage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 18th - Heart

"Hey Donnie oh wondrous brother of mine," Mikey called as he bounced his way into Don's lab.

Don merely glanced up from the project that he had been working on, not the least bit surprised by his brother's boisterous interruption. After living his whole life in the same home as Mikey he was use to him bursting in unexpectedly. Mikey on the other hand was slightly taken aback by the sight of Don's eyes being magnified to four times their normal size by the goggles he was wearing to see the tiny parts that he had been working on.

"What can I help you with Mikey?" Don asked as he removed the goggles to see correctly.

"Do I need a reason to come and have a nice heart to heart chat with my most favorite brother in the whole wide world?" Mikey asked as he took the seat that was normally reserved for Raph.

Don just chuckled at his response. "No of course you don't need a reason. You just usually have one," Don remarked. "So what can I do for you Mikey?"

"I was hoping that you could help me out with a problem I'm having," Mikey said, becoming serious. "Remember when I asked you once if you thought that we would ever find someone that would love us?"

"Yes I remember," Don said. "I remember telling you that I really hoped that we would. Why do you ask?"

"It's just," Mikey began hesitantly. "I had someone in mind at the time and I still like them. I've been trying to drop hints but they don't seem to be getting any of them and I wanted to see if you could help me. I mean you and Raph seem to work so well together that I thought maybe there was some advice that you could give me or something."

Don reached up and covered Mikey's mouth with his hand to stop him from rambling. "Mikey, slow down," Don ordered. "Of course I'll help you as best as I can. Now you can start by telling me who it is that you like. I can't do anything until I know that."

Mikey bit his bottom lip, closed his eyes, and took a reassuring breath. "It's Leo," he breathed out.

"Leo?" Don asked as Mikey opened his eyes and nodded. "Well that certainly explains the extra amount of time that you've been spending with him."

"You mean that you are disgusted by me?" Mikey asked hopefully.

Don laughed at the innocent look on Mikey's face. "Of course not. It would be a little hypocritical of me to be disgusted by you liking Leo when I'm currently going out with Raph."

"So you'll help me?" questioned Mikey.

"Of course I'll help you," Don told him. "Now I get why you were trying a more subtle approach. Leo can get freaked out by changes that he isn't use to but that obviously hasn't been working. You could always try telling him how you feel."

"But what if he rejects me? What if he says that he doesn't want to be with me?" Mikey worried.

"That's a chance that you're going to have to take Mikey," Don said kindly. "If you don't than you'll never know. And even if he doesn't want that kind of relationship, Leo will let you down easy. You know he would never do anything to hurt you."

"I guess you're right," Mikey said standing up from his seat. "Let's go find him."

~

While Don and Mikey were talking in the lab, Leo had wandered up to the garage to have his own heart to heart talk with Raph.

"Raph, can I talk to you for a minute?" Leo asked when he spotted his brother working on his shell cycle.

"Yeah sure. What's up bro?" Raph agreed without looking up from what he was doing

"I was just wondering how you got up the courage to tell Don how you felt about him," Leo said. "I mean, weren't you afraid that he would say that he didn't feel the same? What if you're whole relationship as brothers had been ruined because of that?"

Leo question made Raph pause and put down the screwdriver that he was holding. "I guess I felt that I just had to take that chance. I couldn't keep my feelings bottled up inside of me anymore and I had to tell him," Raph answered. "It was up to him as to whether he returned my feelings or not but I couldn't live with not telling him anymore. It was eating me up inside. Why are you asking?"

"Because I've been wanting to tell Mikey how I feel about him for the past month but I never knew how to do it. And then you and Don told the family that you guys were a couple and I was hoping that you could help me find that same courage to talk to Mike," Leo said in a rush.

Raph sat up and just stared at Leo for a minute seeing the apprehension in his eyes. "Well I didn't really do anything special," Raph began. "I took him up to a roof on New Years and just told him how I felt. I let him know how I was feeling and that if he didn't feel the same way than that was okay and then I left him to think it over. He came to me the next day saying that he wanted to give it a try and here we are now."

"It was really that easy?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Raph said. "Don't get me wrong. I was scared out of my mind that Don would hate me for it but I just couldn't keep it to myself anymore. I'd say just go and tell the little nutball how you feel. You'll never know what he has to say if you don't tell him."

"I guess you're right," Leo said nervously as Raph clapped him on the arm and steered him towards the elevator.  
As they left the elevator and walked into the lair they saw Don and Mikey coming out of Don's lab. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Leo walked over to where Mikey was standing.

"I need to tell you something," they both said at the same time. "You go first. No you."

For the second time that evening Mikey found a hand over his mouth preventing him from talking. "Mikey I need to tell you how I feel," Leo said quickly, afraid that if he didn't get the words out than he would lose the courage he needed. "I like you more than a brother should. I've had feeling for you for a while now but I've been too afraid to tell you in case you didn't feel the same way but I have to say something now. If you don't feel the same way that's okay but I just needed to tell you."

Mikey reached up quickly and pulled Leo's hand away from his mouth. "I like you too Leo," Mikey told him.

"You do?" Leo asked.

"Yeah. I've been trying to drop hints but you keep missing them dude," said Mikey. "So basically, I like you and you like me and we both haven't told the other because we were too afraid of the other's reaction."

"I guess so," Leo chuckled. "Come one. Let's go for a walk. I think we have a lot of things that we need to talk about."  
Taking Mikey's hand in his own, Leo pulled the orange-banded turtle towards the exit into the sewers.

"I guess your idea of playing matchmaker wasn't so bad after all Don," Raph told him as he moved to stand by his side as the door to the lair closed.

"I'm just glad that everything worked out for the best," Don said. "I hope they end up as happy as we are."

Raph wrapped one arm around Don's waist and drew him closer. "You and me both Donnie. You and me both."


	79. Change of Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 19th - Paint

Lunch was just getting over and everyone was getting ready to go do their own things. Don was going to wash the lunch dishes and make himself a new pot of coffee to get himself through the rest of the day. Raph was going to head up to his room and lift some weights for a while. Mikey had plans to make it to the next level in the Wii game that he was currently playing and Leo was heading to the dojo to practice the new kata they had just learned that morning.

As Raph pushed open the door to his room and stepped inside something came crashing down on his head spilling some sort of cool liquid all over him. With a surprised yelp he jumped back as the bucket that had been perched above his door went crashing to the floor.

Once he was sure that nothing else would be attacking him, Raph reached up and wiped away some of the liquid that was now covering him from head to foot. When he pulled his hands away he saw that they had suddenly turned from their normal rich emerald green color to bright orange.

“Mikey!” Raph shouted as he turned and started stomping his way down the stairs.

Mikey, who was sitting on the couch at the time playing on his Wii, turned to look at the giant angry turtle that was currently charging his way. Seeing that his angry brother was covered in bright orange paint reminded Mikey of the bucket he had left in Raph’s room. The realization was barely upon him before he was up and running towards the dojo where he knew Leo was practicing.

Raph knew exactly where Mikey would run to and didn’t even bother moving towards the living room but instead angled himself to head straight for the dojo. Mikey had just barely gotten through the doorway and hidden behind Leo, who had no clue as to what was going on, before Raph was through the door himself.

“Protect me Leo,” Mikey yelled as he ducked down behind Leo’s shell hoping that Raph might somehow not notice him.

Raph stood in front of Leo, hands in fists, ready to tackle Mikey as soon as Leo was out of the way. Leo just stared in shock at the sight of his red-banded brother standing in front of him, dripping orange paint all over the dojo floor.

“Move out of the way Leo,” Raph panted in anger. “There’s no way that you can say he ain’t at fault for this.”

Leo held up a hand to stop Raph and glanced over his shoulder at the brother hiding behind him. “Would you care to explain yourself Michelangelo?” Leo asked mildly.

Mikey cringed at the use of his full name. “Um. I thought that Raph could use a color change,” Mikey said with what he hoped was a winning grin.

Leo just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Raph go take a shower before the paint dries and becomes too hard to get off,” Leo told him. Before Raph could protest Leo turned to Mikey. “And you will go clean up the mess upstairs and everywhere that Raph dripped on as he chased after you.”

Knowing that was the best he was going to get, and that he could always pound Mikey later for this, Raph turned and headed out of the dojo. Sometime during the yelling Don had made his way into the dojo to see what was going on and had stopped in the doorway. Seeing his mate cover head to toe in orange paint, Don had to cover his mouth with one hand to keep from laughing.

“Come one Raph,” Don offered when he had composed himself. “Why don’t you and I go take a nice, long, hot shower together? Your shell might be hard for you to reach on your own and I’m more than willing to help you out with it.”

Raph smiled for the first time since trying to enter his room. “That sounds like a fantastic idea Don,” Raph said as he started pulling his mate towards the bathroom.


	80. Precious Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 20th - Letter

Raph sighed as he stepped out of the shower and into the steamy bathroom. He had been sparring with Leo for over an hour and had worked up quite a sweat doing so. His muscles felt nice and relaxed from the hot shower and he knew that in a few hours from now they would feel the good kind of sore that told him that he had come from a good workout.

It didn’t take him too long to dry off from the shower, one benefit of not having hair like a human. Throwing the towel around his neck so that he could take it to the hamper in the hallway Raph left the bathroom in a billow of steam.

As Raph walked down the hallway he passed by Don’s lab and saw him sitting in there at his desk. The thing that caught Raph’s attention was the fact that unlike usual, Don wasn’t typing furiously away at his computer. In fact it didn’t even look like the computer was on. Instead he was scribbling away at a pad of paper that was sitting on his lap.

With his curiosity peaked, Raph stepped into the lab to get a closer look at what Don was working on. “What have you got there Donnie-boy?” Raph asked as he looked over Don’s shoulder.

“I’m just writing a letter to myself,” Don answered without looking up from what he was doing. “It’s nothing important.”

“If your working on it this hard than it has to be something important,” Raph said adamantly sitting down in his normal chair. “Now what are you working on so hard?”

Don set down the pencil and turned to look at Raph. “It’s just an idea that I had,” Don told him with a slight blush. Standing up, Don walked over to the bookshelf and pulled down a cardboard box and brought it back over to the desk. “It was about a month into out relationship and I had the idea to start a sort of time capsule.”

Don held out the box for Raph to take and stood there as he opened it and looked inside. Carefully Raph pulled out each item and set them on the desk to examine closer. There were some pressed flowers, a couple of loose wires, a sales receipt, a chocolate syrup bottle, and a stack of letters.

“What is all of this stuff?” Raph asked as he looked from the things on the desk to where Don was standing nervously.

“It’s just a bunch of little things from different points in our relationship,” Don said as he pointed to each thing in turn. “These are the flowers that you brought me after our first fight. These are the wires that were messing up your shell cycle the night that we had sex on your bike. This is the first sale that I made on our new website that you encouraged me to start. That’s the syrup bottle from the night you kept me up until the early morning licking chocolate off of me. And these are just some letters that I wrote to myself about everything else in between those times.”

Raph just stared at the items sitting on the desk in front of him. To anyone else they may have seemed like garbage but to Raph they were precious memories with Don that he would always treasure. At that moment he was sincerely grateful to Don for having preserved those things.

Looking up Raph saw that Don still looked nervous about his reaction. Deciding to his mind at ease he asked Don, “do you think that I could write some letters and you could put them in here too?”

The smile that formed on Don’s face nearly lit up the room with how bright it was. “Of course Raph,” said Don. “I’m just glad that you don’t think that it’s a stupid idea.”

“No. I think it’s perfect. This way we can always remember all of the moments that we’ve shared together,” Raph said.

Still smiling, Don tore off a piece of paper and handed it and a pencil to Raph so he could start his own contribution to the time capsule.


	81. Better Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 21st - Money

Raph had woken up early that morning and decided to make breakfast for the family. He was in the kitchen preparing the food when Don came shuffling in, barely awake. He just managed to make it to the table before falling into his seat and setting down the book he was carrying. Once that was out of the way he pillowed his arms and laid his head down on them.

With a smile Raph poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of Don and waited for him to wake up enough before he started talking to him. Since Raph wasn’t much of a morning person himself he knew better than to try and bother someone before they were fully awake and ready to talk.

When the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee hit Don’s nose he managed to crack his eyes open and reach out to take a drink. After a few sips the caffeine started to work its way through Don’s system and he sat up straight in his chair.

“Better?” Raph asked as he worked on the scrambled eggs.

“Yeah,” Don answered. “Thank you. You always know just how to make the coffee.”

“Years of practice,” Raph tossed over his shoulder. “So what’s that book you’ve got there?”

Don glanced down at the book sitting in front of him. “It’s the ledger that I use to keep track of the family finances. You know, the money we make from our business and what we spend,” Don said with a shrug.

Raph scooped the eggs out of the pan and put them onto two plates and brought them over to the table passing one to Don. “So how are we doing in the money department than?” questioned Raph as he shoveled a spoon into his mouth.

“Not too bad,” Don answered as he took a bite of his own eggs. They were crunchy along the edges while still being somewhat runny in the middle, just the way he liked them. Not even Mikey could make the perfect scrambled eggs as far as Don was concerned. “We were doing alright when I had my IT Tech job. We had enough money coming in to cover basic expenses. That changed ever since we started our online business however.”

Don paused there to take another bite of his eggs and Raph looked at him worriedly. “Are things not going very well?” asked Raph anxiously. “Cause I could help more with fixing things or we could find some other job. I don’t want you going back to that IT job again. You were absolutely miserable when you were there and you don’t deserve that Donnie.”

“Don’t worry Raph. That won’t be happening any time soon,” Don assured him with a smile, touched at Raph’s caring. “In fact, we’re actually much better off now with our website then we were when I was working for the IT department. Even if we weren’t doing well I don’t think that I could go back to that. You’re right, I was miserable. Besides, we made it through life before I ever got a job. I have absolute faith that we could do it again if we had to.”

“Good. Because I refuse to stand by and watch you do that to yourself again,” Raph said adamantly. “You wanna show me what’s in the book. I bet if I can help you with fixing thing than I can do some basic math too.”

Don smiled as he slid his chair closer to Raph’s. While he was more than capable of keeping track of the money on his own he didn’t mind Raph offering to help one bit.


	82. Bobble Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 22nd - Decoration

Instead of going for a patrol across the city that night the four brothers decided to make a trip to the junkyard. Don wanted to look for a few more things that he could bring home and fix up for his job. Leo had agreed that if they all carried things back than that could substitute as a workout instead of running the rooftops. The fact that Mikey had given Leo his puppy-dog eyes hadn't exactly hurt Don's request.

The junkyard that they were visiting was one that they didn't go to very often. It wasn't because it was unsafe; Leo wouldn't let them go there if that was the case. It was just one of the city's smaller junkyards and it was farther away from the lair. This made it inconvenient to go to but Don had gathered some of his best finds from this junkyard.

When they arrived they split up knowing that they would be able to cover more ground that way. While Don may have been the one most able to determine of any electronics that were found could be used, the others were capable of finding other items. It didn't hurt that Don had given them lists of things that he was either hoping to find or things that he was willing to work on.

Don chuckled as he heard Mikey yelling in excitement in another part of the dump. No matter where they were, Mikey always seemed to be having a good time. Don wished that he could say the same thing. Even though it had been his idea to come here he wasn't having much luck finding anything useful or that he wanted.

Sighing he reached down and picked up a bobble head doll. It was in the shape of a turtle and it was kind of cute.

"What have you got there Donnie-boy?" Raph asked.

Don jumped and spun around in shock. "Raph, don't sneak up on me like that," Don hissed.

A deep chuckled reverberated from Raph's chest. "Come on Don. A ninja's always supposed to be aware of his surroundings. Haven't you listened to any of Leo's lectures," Raph teased. "So what did you find?"

"It's just a little knickknack. I figured that I could keep it as a decoration for my lab," Don explained. "I haven't really found anything all that useful. I'm starting to think that this whole trip will turn out to be one giant bust."

"Well you can't always find something incredible every trip," Raph told him. "If you did than finding cool stuff wouldn't be special anymore. Your eyes wouldn't light up. You wouldn't give that cute little gasp when you discover something new."

Don snickered at Raph's assertion. "I guess you have a point. Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No nothing," answered Raph. "I think it's probably just an off night here. Let's go find Fearless and the nutball and head home. We can find the perfect place to put your bobble head turtle when we get back."

"That sounds like a good idea," Don agreed with a quick kiss. "This trip was pointless but I'm sure that we could find something better to do back at the lair."


	83. Screwdriver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 23rd - Porn

Don sighed as he pushed open the door to Raph’s room and walked inside. While he was very appreciative of Raph’s help with fixing things for their business there was one thing he didn’t like. Raph had a habit of taking tools from Don’s lab to his room and not bringing them back. This meant that Don now had to go on a scavenger hunt through Raph’s room to find the screwdriver that he needed.

While the room may have been tidier now as compared to how it used to look before Raph and Don became a couple it could not truly be considered clean. There were weights on the floor even if they were in just one corner. The desk that was set against the wall was covered in different racing magazines as well as an extra mask and a knee guard that had a tear in it.

This meant that Don would have to go searching through some of Raph's stuff in order to find his screwdriver. Carefully Don pushed things around on the desk trying his best not to disturb too much. He hated it when other people messed with his stuff without his knowledge and tried not to do that to do that to the others in return.

Once he was sure that the screwdriver wasn't somewhere on top of the desk he decided to look inside the drawers. Maybe Raph had put it in one of them to keep it safe so that he wouldn't lose it. The first and second drawers yielded nothing but spare masks, extra training gear, a spare pair of sais, and a few shurikens. It was the contents of the third drawer that really caught Don's attention. Don reached in and carefully drew out the magazines that were sitting in there.

In shock at what he was holding Don barely heard the door opening behind him. “Something I can help you find Donnie?" Raph asked as he walked into his room and saw Don standing by his desk.

"Well I was looking for my screwdriver. Now however I'm wondering why you have these porn magazines in your desk," Don said as he held up the magazines full of scantily clad women.

The deep blush that spread across Raph's face as he saw what Don was holding was almost enough to overshadow the minor annoyance that Don felt at finding the magazines.

"I can explain," Raph said hurriedly as he closed the door behind him so no one would overhear them.

"I hope so," Don said with mocking anger. Inside he was actually quite amused at watching Raph squirm. It wasn't often that Don was able to catch his brother off guard like this and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

“They aren’t mine,” Raph tried to explain. “They’re Casey’s. April was going over to his apartment to help him clean up because she said it was too messy for her taste. He wanted me to hide them so she wouldn’t see them.”

At that point Don couldn’t contain his laughter any more. The fact that Raph actually thought that Don believed that the magazines were his was too funny. Don knew that even if Raph had porn magazines hidden somewhere that they would most likely be gay magazines considering his sexual orientation.

“Raph I know these aren’t yours,” Don continued to laugh. “If you were going to have porn magazines they probably wouldn’t have women in them and you probably would have hidden them somewhere better than in your bottom desk draw where Mikey could easily find them if he snuck into your room.”

Raph just grunted in response as he grabbed the magazines from Don’s hand and threw them back in the desk. “You’re right about why I wouldn’t want those magazine but not about why I wouldn’t hide them in my desk. I wouldn’t hide them in my desk because I don’t need them to begin with.” 

“Oh and why is that?” Don asked curiously.

Raph pulled Don close until they were pressed up against one another. “Because why would I need or want a bunch of pictures when I have the real thing right in front of me,” Raph smirked. “There ain’t no picture that can turn me on the way you do Donnie.”

Don was nearly breathless at the love and lust that was shining in Raph’s eyes. “I’m not sure that I understand. Care to give me a demonstration?”

As Raph’s lips came crashed down on his own, Don thought back to why he had come to Raph’s room in the first place. While he may not have located the screwdriver that he was originally looking for, he was more than happy with the one that he ran into.


	84. Double Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 24th - Movies

Don was starting to lose his patients with Mikey very quickly and was rapidly approaching the point of literally picking him up and throwing him bodily from his lab.

"Please, please, please Donnie," Mikey pleaded as he followed Don around his lab while he tried to work. "You know it's a good idea and you're the only one that can convince Raph. He won't do it if I ask but he will if you do."

“Why exactly do you want a date night with all four of us any way?” Don asked over his shoulder.

Mikey bit his lip in hesitation before answering. “It’s just that my relationship with Leo is so new and I’m afraid of screwing it up. If you and Raph were there and made it a double date then I might be less likely to mess it up,” Mikey admitted.

"Oh Mikey," Don said as he put his stuff down and wrapped an arm around Mikey's shoulder. "Mikey, you aren't going to mess things up with Leo. Besides, just because your relationship is new doesn't mean that it's fragile enough that a simple mistake will destroy it. Mistakes are going to happen but that's how you learn about the other person."

Mikey snorted as he pulled out of Don's hold and moved across the room. "That's easy for you to say. You’ve never messed anything up when it comes to dating Raph. You’re a genius after all,” Mikey said belligerently.

Don chuckled a bit at Mikey's assertion. "Mikey just because I'm a genius when it comes to machines and technology doesn't mean that I'm a genius in everything or that I'm infallible," Don told him. "When Raph first brought up the idea of telling you guys about us, I was afraid. Instead of just talking to him about my fear I got angry. We fought and I ran away from him. It was a few days before we made up."

“Really?” Mikey asked.

“Really,” Don told him. “No relationship is perfect. There are going to be misunderstandings. But if you want, I can go convince Raph to go on a double date with you and Leo. You go get dinner ready and pick out some movies and I’ll go talk to him.”

Suddenly Don was enveloped in a tight bear hug. “Thank you so much Donnie,” Mikey said before letting go and running out of the room.

With a smile and shake of his head Don followed Mikey out of his lab and went in search of his mate. He found him in the dojo working through a few katas from yesterday morning’s practice. “Hey Donnie,” Raph greeted Don as he came into the room.

“Hey Raph. I have a question for you,” Don said as he stood out of his brother’s way. “How would you light to go on a double date with Leo and Mikey tonight. Before you say no think about it for a minute. A nice romantic dinner that neither of us has to cook and watching some movies and snuggling on the couch.”

“Mikey asked you to ask me didn’t he?” Raph asked as he came to a stop and turned to face his mate.

“Yeah,” Don answered with a shrug.

“Well now I know why he always goes to you,” said Raph as he put his sais away. “You can make even his most harebrained ideas such as spending the night on a date with Fearless sound like a good plan.”

“So are you in?” Don asked.

“Sure why not,” agreed Raph. “But I’m picking the movie.”


	85. Appealing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 25th - Chicken

It was early afternoon, closing in on lunchtime, and Raph and Don were in the dojo sparring against one another. Since it was Sunday there was no formal practice but they could still train if they wished. Although practice may not have been required it was still a nice chance to expel some energy that being cooped up in the lair during the day had created.

There was also the added benefit that since they were working on hand-to-hand combat there was a lot of touching involved. They even kept it so that only some of the touching was of a sexual nature. For the most part they did keep their spar professional but they did still come in contact with one another. Just feeling they other’s skin on their own was something that they both loved.

Once Raph had Don pinned to the mat they decided to call an end to the practice. It was almost time for lunch anyway and they were both getting hungry. As Raph stood up he reach a hand down to help Don to his feet. When he pulled him up he also pulled him in close and planted a quick kiss on his lips before they left the dojo.

“So what should we have for lunch?” Raph questioned as they walked into the kitchen.

“I’d say something with chicken in it,” Don answered. “We have a ton of it left over from last night. Mikey really outdid himself last night with the dinner for our double date with him and Leo.”

Raph shrugged as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out the Tupperware container full of left over chicken and some mayonnaise. “Dinner was good,” Raph admitted. “It was a little weird at first being on a date with Leo and Mikey though.”

“Oh stop complaining about it,” Don teased as he grabbed a cutting boards and a knife. Taking the chicken from Raph he began to cut it into strips to make sandwiches with. “You had a good time last night. You were smiling and laughing right along side Leo so don’t try and tell me that it was some horrible experience for you. I know you better than that remember.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Raph admitted with a cheeky grin as he got the bread ready for the sandwiches. “It was a good night. The only down side was when Mikey lost interest in the movie.”

Don chuckled at the memory. “You mean when he started trying to give Leo a dental exam using his tongue?”

“Yeah. If Mikey had his way they would have been making out on the couch right in front of us,” Raph said with a shudder. “I don’t care what they do on their own but I don’t want to see it. Thank goodness Fearless put a stop to that right away.”

Don finished cutting the chicken and put the strips on the bread handing one of the sandwiches to Raph as they sat down at the table. “He may have put a stop to it on the couch but did you notice that they left for Leo’s room shortly after that?” Don pointed out.

Raph took a large bite out of his sandwich and hummed in pleasure. “We weren’t exactly too far behind them ourselves you know,” Raph added.

“You do have a point,” Don agreed. “Although I blame you for that on two counts.”

“Oh really. Do explain,” Raph challenged.

“Well your first mistake was picking a movie that wasn’t nearly as interesting as my date was,” Don said as he left his chair and moved to sit on Raph’s lap. “And the second was being so appealing that nothing could shake my focus from you.”

Before Don could meet Raph’s lips with his own Mikey came bouncing into the kitchen looking for his own lunch. “Oh get a room guys,” Mikey whined. “Didn’t you get enough of each other last night?”

“Not even close,” Raph declared as he pulled Don into a deep kiss despite their audience.


	86. Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 26th - Fire

Without ever losing eye contact with his mate, Don slowly made his way down Raph’s body. As Don slid farther down the bed he deposited kisses along any patch of skin that he came in contact with. They had already made love once that night with Raph pouncing on Don as soon as they were alone in Don’s room together.

Don hadn’t really minded being tossed onto the bed and being taken hard and fast. He loved being consumed by the passionate fire that was Raphael. It felt like there were flames licking at the two of them while they made love but instead of being painful they only urged them higher towards their peak.

While Don preferred a more submissive role in the bedroom for the most part he still wanted to give back to Raph all of the emotions and wonderful sensations that were given to him. He knew that Raph was happy as long as he was happy but Don wanted to be able to give back too.

This was exactly what he was thinking when Don got to Raph’s lower plastron and gently ran his fingertips over the slit that housed Raph’s cock. The smirk that Raph gave him said that if Don wanted to play then he would have to work for it. The matching smirk on Don’s face said that he was more than prepared for the challenge.

Leaning down Don blew a gently stream off air across the slit before giving it a long swipe with him tongue. The shiver that ran up Raph’s spine was very satisfying. Don knew however that if he wanted to give back some of the fiery passion that Raph gave to him than he couldn’t be content with a single shiver.

Don decided to leave the slit alone for the moment and moved down even farther until he could pull Raph’s tail into his mouth. Carefully Don suckled on the wiggling appendage while he brought he hands up and cupped Raph’s ass, kneading it between his fingers.

By this time Raph was panting in earnest and trying to wiggle his hips even closer to that nice warm mouth. With a slurp Don pulled his mouth away from the tail that was still begging for attention, much to Raph’s displeasure. Don caught Raph’s gaze as he took one hand away from his ass and started sucking on one of his fingers.

Raph’s pulse was pounding throughout his body as Don took the finger out of his mouth and used it to gently push inside Raph’s entrance. The feeling of being breached by Don’s finger was enough to make Raph lose control and drop down into Don’s waiting hand.

Knowing that Raph was starting to get impatient Don quickly, but thoroughly, stretched Raph to make sure that he would be hurt when Don entered him with something a bit bigger. Once he was sure that Raph was ready, Don dropped down. He quickly jerked himself a few times to spread the pre-come along his shaft and slid into the waiting warmth in front of him.

At first Don tried to set a pace of slow thrusts to make both of their pleasures last longer. Raph was having none of that however and wrapped his legs around Don’s shell and jerked him forward hard and fast. Since Don’s purpose of topping that night was for Raph’s enjoyment he gave in to his mate’s request and didn’t hold back.

Don’s hard and fast thrusts had them moaning and churring in no time at all. It wasn’t long at all until they were both reaching their peaks, simultaneously calling out each other’s name. Once they calmed down enough Don pulled out of Raph and laid down beside him.

“Damn Don,” Raph panted. “What was that for?”

“It was for you,” Don answered. “You always fill me with so much passion that I feel like I’m about to be set on fire. I just wanted to give some of that back to you.”

“You definitely succeed Don,” Raph said before drifting off to sleep with his mate tucked safely in his arms.


	87. Can't Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 27th - Ice

It was late at night and Raph was tired. The only problem was that he couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Part of that he blamed on the fact that sometimes he would get cases of insomnia and could barely catch a few hours of sleep in a week. Raph thought that might be partially to blame but he wasn’t going to lay the complete fault at insomnia’s feet. There was also the fact that Raph had gotten used to falling asleep with Don tucked safely in his arms.

Unfortunately for Raph, Don had gotten an idea for a new invention just after dinner and hadn’t left his lab since. Considering the fact that it was now nearing eleven it was safe to guess that Don would probably not be joining Raph in bed that night.

Finally getting tired of just laying in his hammock without being able to fall asleep Raph decided that maybe some exercise would be able to exhaust him enough to let him fall off into dreamland. If that didn’t work he could always go and sit quietly in Don’s lab. As long as he didn’t distract Don too much Raph was sure that he would let him stay.

When Raph got downstairs one of the first things he looked for was the light shining from under the lab door. What he saw instead was a dark doorway and a light shining from inside the kitchen. Curious, Raph made his way inside to see who was in there at this time of night and what they were doing.

Inside Don was sitting calmly at the kitchen table eating what looked like a bowl of half melted ice cream. Looking up when he heard someone approaching Don smiled when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

“Hey Raph. What are you doing up so late?” Don asked waving his spoon in Raph’s direction.

“Just couldn’t sleep without you there,” Raph said tiredly. “What are you doing eating ice cream right now? I thought you were working on some new invention.”

Don chuckled quietly at Raph drooping eyes. ”I hit a bit of a dead end on my idea,” he explained taking another bite of his ice cream. “I was thirsty so I was going to get some ice water but someone turned the temperature down in the freezer. The ice was completely melted and the ice cream was following right along behind. I got the temperature back up so the meat wouldn’t spoil but thought it was a waste to lose perfectly good ice cream so I decided to eat it.”

“Oh,” yawned Raph. “You coming to bed any time soon?”

“I thought I might,” Don answered. “Just as soon as I finish this bowl. Why?”

Raph shrugged and looked away from Don as he answered. “Just can’t sleep without you there. My arms feel too empty,” Raph said with a blush.

Don quickly shoved the last few bites of ice cream into his mouth before putting the bowl in the sink. “I’m ready for bed now,” Don announced. “So your room or mine?”


	88. Slippery Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 28th - Rain

That morning Leo had been put in charge of practice by Master Splinter. He wanted to make sure that even though they had paired up into relationships that extended beyond those of brothers that they could still fight together as a team.

This meant that they still needed to fall under Leo’s leadership even if he separated Raph and Don from working with each other or went hard on Mikey in practice. If they failed to be able to do this than one of them could be killed if they got into a fight topside.

It was now later in the evening and they had finished dinner about half an hour ago. Leo had decided to take very seriously Master Splinter’s implied challenge of making sure that they were still able to function together as a team even when topside. This meant that he was taking them up to the rooftops for a patrol of the city in the light rain that was coming down.

No one seemed very thrilled with this prospect. Despite much grumbling by all three of his brothers followed Leo up to the garage and then onto the rooftops. The rain that was coming down wasn’t a very heavy rain but it was cold. They all knew how to fight and react in different conditions but that didn’t mean that they had to be happy about it.

Leo was determined to put them all through their paces in spite of the weather. One of the things that Leo wanted to make sure that they could do was to jump from roof to roof without slipping on the wet concrete. There was only time that one of them came close to slipping.

As they were jumping from one roof to another a car on the street hit a small puddle of water and skidded into a mailbox. The sudden bang startled Don enough that his footing slipped on the edge of the next roof and he startled to fall backwards. Before his center of gravity shifted too far Raph’s arm shoot out and grabbed Don by his bicep and pulled him closer to where he was standing.

“You okay Don?” Raph asked concerned.

“Yeah I’m good,” Don said as he clutched at Raph’s arms to catch his balance. “I just lost my balance at the last moment. Thanks for the catch.”

“Any time Don. You’d do the same for me,” Raph said as he reluctantly let go of his mate and they moved towards where Leo and Mikey were standing.

Leo nodded to them as they walked over. With a wave of his hand he signaled for them to follow him into a shed that was in the center of the roof.

“I think that it’s time to head back to the lair,” Leo announced. “We’re all soaked from the rain and it’s starting to get dangerous. It’s unlikely that there will be any criminal activity tonight with this weather.”

“That sounds like the best idea you’ve had all day Fearless,” Raph said with a smirk as he took Don’s hand and started pulling him back outside. “First couple back gets first dibs on the shower though.”


	89. Prank For A Prank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 29th - Shower

Donnie was working alone in his lab on an idea that he had gotten two days ago. He had been thinking about the Foot Tech Ninja’s cybernetic armor that deflects light away from themselves so that they become invisible.

He had already created the TurtleVision goggles so that they could spot the Foot using body heat but Don wanted to go a step beyond that. He was hoping to be able to reverse engineer the piece of the armor that they had to be able to make some kind of cybernetic armor for the four of them.

He knew that this would make Leo very happy if they had another tool that could help with their stealth. It also didn’t hurt that Don knew that Raph would love having the option of going topside during the day and sitting in the sun without fear of being seen.

Don had been enjoying the peace and quiet that his lab provided him while he worked on such a complicated project. That was until someone rushed inside the lab, letting the door slam behind them. Don turned around to see Raph standing there looking around the lab curiously.

“Is there something that I can help you with Raph?” Don asked confused by his mate’s perplexed look.

“Yeah actually there is,” Raph said focusing on Don. “Where do you keep the extra red paint? You know, the kind I use to fix up my bike when it gets a scratch.”

Don raised an eyebrow at the strange question but pointed to the bottom shelf of a nearby bookcase. “It’s right over there,” Don said. “Why do you need it? I saw your bike last night when we where rushing through the garage. It didn’t have any scratches on it.”

“That’s not what I need it for,” Raph told him in a rush as he grabbed the can and made his way back to the door. “I’ll tell you in a few minutes.”

Don just shook his head in amusement as he thought about Raph’s antics. Whatever he was up to, Don was sure that he would find out soon enough. Just as Don went back to looking at the cybernetic armor the door opened again and Raph hurried across the room and started rummaging through his toolbox. Holding up a wrench in triumph Raph was gone just as quickly as he had appeared.

Don’s curiosity was now peaked as he got up and followed Raph out of his lab. As he walked through the hallway he could hear Leo and Mikey wrapping up their individual practice with each other. They would finish in a few minutes and then head to the shower before relaxing for the rest of the day.

Hearing some noise coming from the bathroom Don headed in that direction. When he walked inside he saw Raph standing in the shower messing with the showerhead and with the can of paint sitting at his feet.

“Raph what on earth are you doing?” Don asked incredulously.

“I’m getting Mikey back for all of the pranks that he’s pulled on me lately. Especially that paint one,” Raph answered without stopping. “I’m gonna put some of that red paint in the showerhead and when Mikey goes to turn the shower on when he’s done with practice in a few minutes he’ll get covered with it.”

“That’s actually quite ingenious,” Don thought out loud. “But what happens if Leo takes the first shower?”

Raph just shook his head at that as he poured the paint into the showerhead and began reattaching it. “Won’t happen. Mikey always begs for the first shower and Leo is so soft he’ll give right in to him,” Raph said assuredly. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

Quickly Raph picked up his stuff, grabbed Don, and pulled them both out of the room. They had just made it to the lab when Leo and Mikey left the dojo. “I’m gonna go hit the shower,” Mikey told Leo as he headed towards the bathroom.

Raph and Don waited anxiously by the door as they waited to hear Mikey’s reaction. It may not have been Don’s idea but he had been caught up in Raph’s excitement and couldn’t wait for the results either. They didn’t have to wait long before they heard a high-pitched scream coming from the bathroom.

The last thing they heard before closing the lab door and locking it as they dissolved into a fit of giggles was Mikey yelling “I am so getting you back for this Raphie!”


	90. Dream Come True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 30th - Dream

Raph was tired but he wasn’t quite ready to fall asleep yet. He and Don had made it to Don’s room earlier and had some fun together with the door closed and locked. They had finished a little while ago and Don had fallen asleep in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

Don was draped across Raph’s plastron still churring slightly in his sleep. Normally Raph would have joined him in dreamland but something was keeping him awake. Right now he felt the need to just enjoy this time with Don, even if he was asleep.

Life was just so fast paced at times that it was nice every now and again to pause and look back on how far he had come in so short an amount of time. He and Don had been together almost three months now. This still managed to blow Raph’ mind at times. He had loved and had a crush on Don for a few years now but had been certain that he would forever have to live with that secret.

It had gotten to the point that he could no longer suffer in silence and he had to tell Don about his feelings for him. He had been so afraid that Don would reject him though. Raph was still amazed that wasn’t what had happened. Sometimes he wondered if he was in the middle of some spectacular dream. If that was true than he didn’t want to wake up.

Raph shifted down father into the bed and pulled Don closer into his arms. Reaching down Raph pulled the blanket up over both of them so that they wouldn’t get cold. Their body heat had increased while they were having sex but now that they were done their temperature was returning to normal and he didn’t want them to get cold. As the blanket covered him Don snuggled in closer to Raph in his sleep. With a soft sigh

Smiling, Raph began gently running his hand over Don’s shell feeling each of the dents and dings. Don had the least amount of scars when compared to his brothers mostly due to his use of his bo staff and being able to keep his enemies at a distance.

This was something that Raph was extremely grateful for. He loved to run his hands over Don’s smooth skin but it was more than that. He didn’t want Don to experience the pain that went along with getting so many scars. He knew that his lover was a more than capable ninja and could handle anything thrown at him but that didn’t mean that he should have to.

As far as Raph was concerned this was all a dream come true. Being able to hold Don in his arms while he slept and calling him his own was more than he had ever thought was possible. That meant that he would protect all of this with everything that he had. If someone wanted to hurt Don or take him away and end Raph’s perfect dream than they would have to go through him first.

Pulling out of his thoughts Raph looked down at Don’s peaceful face and listened to his easy breathing. It was a soothing reminder that everything he had ever wanted was right here in his arms. With a smile Raph could feel his eyelids getting heavier and gave in to the call of sleep. After all, if the dreams he had while he was asleep were anywhere near as good as the ones that he experienced in reality than he didn’t want to miss out on them.


	91. Good Luck Charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 31st - Moments

The day started out very relaxed. Raph and Don woke up curled around each other in Don’s bed and just laid there for a few moments, just enjoying the other’s company and waking up enough to start the day. Breakfast continued on in the same smooth fashion that waking up had done. Mikey and Leo had made a bunch of waffles together and had different toppings sitting out on the table for everyone to take as they wanted them.

During breakfast Don had fun seeing how often he could cover a piece of strawberry in whipped cream and feed it to Raph without anyone else seeing or noticing. By the time everyone was done eating Don had managed it four separate times.

Raph had even gotten in on the action by putting a piece of waffle on his fork and smearing it with some chocolate sauce. Before he actually fed it to Don, he hit Don’s nose with it getting chocolate all over his facing and causing every else to laugh at them. Don had given him a mock glare but the look in his eyes as he licked the chocolate off of his face told a different story entirely.

The rest of the day consisted of similar moments. Little things that they each did for the other throughout the day to show how much they cared about each other. They weren’t big grand gestures of affection but instead small things that may not matter to other people but were special to their partner. 

Don made sure that Raph’s bike was filled with gas and that his punching bag didn’t have any tears in it. Raph refilled Don’s coffee mug without being asked and brought him lunch so that he wouldn’t forget to eat.

While Don was working on his project to turn them all invisible through cybernetics Raph looked through all of the supplies that Don had stocked up in his lab. He knew that Don liked to have spare parts to everything that was needed in the lair. It was a good idea since things did tend to break when they didn’t have the chance to go topside to find spare parts and everything that seemed to break was always something that was needed for something vital to running the lair.

They were running low on a few types of nuts and bolts that were used for almost everything and a few other spare parts so it was probably a good idea to go topside and find some new ones.

“Hey Don, think we should make a run to the junkyard tonight?” Raph asked. “We’re almost out of some things and I could use the chance to stretch my legs. You in?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Don quipped. “When am I ever not in the mood to go to the junkyard? Besides if you’re willing to go with me than there is no way that I’m passing up that opportunity. I always seem to have the best luck when you’re there. You’re like a magnet for the really good finds. I’m betting we could even find some copper wire if you’re there.”

“Then lead the way Donnie-boy,” Raph said. “I shall tag along and be your good luck charm. Just promise to never leave me and I’ll promise to do my best to attract all the copper to us that we can carry.”

“In that case I’ll need a bigger bag,” Don said as he tossed his duffle over his should. “Because there’s no way that I’m every letting you go.”


	92. April Fools Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 1st - Coffee

Don was a little nervous when he walked into the kitchen that morning. It was April Fools Day and Don knew from experience that it was Mikey’s favorite holiday. Every year Mikey always set up elaborate traps to catch his brothers and generally went out of his way to annoy them all day long. Don was determined not to fall into any pranks today.

As Don walked into the kitchen he saw Raph sitting alone at the table eating his cereal. There was even a cup of coffee already waiting for him at his seat. The problem was that Mikey was suspiciously absent and it would be just like him to have set a trap and left the room to watch it all unfold from some hidden spot. Everyone knew that Don needed his coffee to be able to function throughout the day and that would be something that Mikey would go for.

Seeing Don’s suspicious look Raph smiled as he assured him, “Don’t worry Donnie, Mike ain’t done anything to your coffee.”

Still cautious, Donnie sat in his chair gently to make sure nothing had been tampered with there and sniffed at the coffee. “Are you sure? You know how much Mikey loves April Fools Day.”

“I made the coffee myself Don. Relax,” Raph reassured him. Don took a small sip and, finding nothing out of the ordinary continued to drink the rest.

Since it was Sunday, Don retreated to his lab after breakfast to try and get some work done. The lab was his safe haven since Mikey knew better than to pull any sort of prank in the lab. The chance of something exploding or someone getting hurt was too high for Mikey to do something in the lab.

All throughout the day, whenever Don left the lab to get himself another cup of coffee Raph was right there ready to go with a new cup and a kiss. Grateful since it kept him out of Mikey’s line of sight, Don would accept both the coffee and kiss and head back to work.

Later that night when everyone was starting to call it a night Don was still trying to continue to work in his lab. He was determined to make some real progress with his newest project but he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.  
Raph headed to the lab with the intention of dragging Donnie to bed. “Yo, Don. It’s bedtime Brainiac,” Raph announced as he walked through the door.

“Not now Raph,” Donnie yawned. “I still have work that I need to finish.”

“It can wait until morning,” Raph said as he reached around Don, turned off the computer, and pulled Donnie out of his chair much to his protest. Raph then quickly and quietly maneuvered both of them upstairs and into bed before Don could escape back to his lab.

Don was too tired to adequately complain against Raph’s treatment. “I really should be more awake than this,” Donnie yawned as Raph joined him in bed and pulled the covers over them. “I mean, I’ve been drinking coffee all day like I usually do so I can work late on my projects. I don’t see how I can be so tired.”

“You probably would be more awake if you hadn’t been drinking decaf all day long,” Raph responded. At Don’s shocked face Raph leaned down and placed a kiss on Don’s lips and said, “Happy April Fools Day Donnie.”

Don scowled sleepily at Raph as he struggled to remain awake. “I will make you pay for this Raphie.”


	93. Coincidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 2nd - Karma

The first thing that Raph noticed when he woke up that morning was that he was alone in the bed. He found that somewhat odd because lately when he and Don had fallen asleep together the first one to wake up usually waited for the other one. Raph just shrugged it off as he got up. After all, Don might have needed to use the bathroom or something.

As Raph walked into the kitchen for breakfast he saw Don already sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. When Don noticed Raph in the doorway he grabbed his coffee mug, stared right at Raph, and took a big drink. Raph got the point Don was trying to make and only grinned sheepishly in return.

Raph made his way into the room to get his breakfast and sit down next to his mate. As soon as Raph took the chair next to Don, Don stood up, put his bowl in the sink, and headed out to the dojo to warm up.

This caught Raph a bit off guard. He had thought that Don would sit with him while they ate breakfast together. But maybe Don really was just finished and wanted to get an early start at practice. Raph would definitely have to keep an eye out. Something strange was up and he was determined to figure it out.

Practice went much the same way that the morning had been going. Whenever Raph would try and get close to Don he would just move away like that was what he had planned the entire time. At first Raph was very confused by the silent treatment. Don wasn’t acting like he was angry about something, more like he was trying to teach Raph a lesson.

When practice ended Raph watched Don silently slip away from him and head towards the lab. It was then that Don’s words from last night ran through his mind. I will make you pay for this Raphie. This must have been what Don was talking about. This was his payback, a day of the silent treatment for Raph having switched out his regular coffee for decaf as an April Fools Day joke.

With a smile Raph headed up to the garage. If Don wanted to play this game today than Raph would let him. After all he did kind of deserve it after messing with Don’s coffee. Everyone knew better than to do that or there would be consequences.

Once in the garage Raph made his way over to his bike with the intention of giving it a tune up to make sure that it was in perfect working order. The first thing he went to do was to turn it on and listen to the engine. This was also where he ended. As soon as he turned the keys the engine made a sputtering sound and died out. Two more tries yielded the same results.

Becoming frustrated, Raph made his way back down to the lair. Whatever was wrong with his bike, Raph knew he wouldn’t be able to fix it on his own. He would need Don’s help for that. He was just hoping that Don would end his silent treatment long enough to help him.

“Yo Donnie,” Raph said as he entered the lab. “I’m sorry about yesterday, but there’s something wrong with my bike and I was hoping that you could help me fix it.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Don asked ending his silent treatment from earlier for the moment.

“When I turn the key to turn the engine on it just sputters and dies,” Raph told him describing the problem. “Is there any way you could come take a look at it?”

The smirk that crossed Don’s face warned Raph that he probably wasn’t going to like the answer. “Well normally I would love to come and help you Raph,” Don said in a sugary sweet tone of voice. “But you see I have a lot of work backed up in the lab right now. If I had been able to stay up a bit later last night than I might not be so far behind and I would be able to help you. I guess that’s karma for you.”

Don spun around in his chair so he was back to facing the computer leaving a shocked Raph standing behind him with his mouth left open wide.


	94. New Toy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 3rd - Sin

Don and Raph were sitting on the couch that evening relaxing when Don’s phone started to ring. Taking it off of his belt he glanced down at the caller ID to see who was on the other end before answering it.

“Hey April,” Don answered. “What’s up?”

_“I got a package in the mail today addressed to you,” April said. “I didn’t know that you were ordering something and sending it here. Do you want me to bring it down to the lair for you?”_

“If you don’t mind that would be awesome,” Don told her with a light blush painting his face. “Just keep it in the packaging that it arrived in. It’s a surprise for someone.”

_“Not a problem Don. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” April said before hanging up the phone._

Raph looked away from the tv when Don hung up the phone. “What did you have sent to April’s place?” Raph asked curiously.

“It’s a surprise for later,” Don said dismissively hoping the Raph would take the hint and drop the subject.

Raph just stared at Don for a moment before deciding to take Don’s advice and drop the matter. He could always bring it up again later if Don still hadn’t told him. Fifteen minutes later the elevator opened and April stepped out carrying a small box wrapped in brown parchment paper.

“Here you go Don,” April said holding out the box. “So what exactly did you get for Raph?”

April’s question caught both of the off guard and they glanced at each other for a moment before turning to look at her.

“Why would you think that it’s for Raph?” Don asked carefully.

April just smiled as she sat down on an arm of the couch. “Because I know that you don’t need anything new for the lab right now or you would have mentioned it the last time we talked. And there’s also the fact that two are a couple,” she said casually, holding up a hand to stop them from interrupting. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t bother me. I had noticed the two of you getting closer and I overheard Mikey saying something to Leo and put two and two together.”

Raph reached out a hand and took Don’s in his own. “So you don’t have a problem with us?” he asked nervously.

“No,” April giggled. “You guys are my brothers and nothing is ever going to change that. I’ve got to head back up now. Casey’s picking me up later so I have to go get ready. Have fun with your surprise.”

“Well that went better than I thought it would,” Raph commented after April was out of earshot. “Now what is in that box?”

The leer that appeared on Don’s face almost made Raph regret asking the question. Standing up Don pulled on the hand that was still holding onto Raph’s. “Why don’t you come up to my room and find out?”

Raph nearly tripped over his own feet with the speed that Don was pulling him. As soon as they got into Don’s room the door was barely closed and locked behind them before Don forcefully shoved Raph down onto the bed and straddled his thighs.

“So you want to know what’s in the box now do you?” Don teased. “Cause I can show you.”

Carefully Don began peeling off the brown paper piece by piece with Raph’s eyes riveted on the box as it was slowly revealed. The slight gasp Raph gave when he was finally able to see what the package was caused an almost instant reaction in Don’s lower plastron.

Reaching up Raph took the box from Don’s hands so he could get a closer look at the large purple dildo inside. “Committing the oldest sins in the newest kinds of ways,” Raph read on the packaging.

While Raph was staring at the box Don had found the lube and wormed his way in between Raph’s legs. Carefully Don breached Raph’s entrance and began prepping him. “Open the package for me Raph,” Don ordered.

The feeling of being stretched and the forcefulness that Don was using left Raph in a pleasant haze as he did what he was told. When Don removed his finger and replaced it with the dildo Raph couldn’t keep himself contained anymore and dropped out into the open. He whimpered when there was nothing there to meet his cock as it made its appearance.

Don chuckled as he let himself drop down and gathered both of their cocks together in one hand and began stroking them. “Does that feel good Raphie?” Don moaned as he tried to keep pace with Raph thrusting against him. Reaching down with his free hand, Don twisted the end of the dildo.

Raph nearly jumped a foot off the bed and grabbed onto Don’s biceps in a death grip when it started moving inside of him. “Did I forget to mention that it’s a vibrator too?” Don teased as he picked up the pace.

Raph could no longer form any sort of coherent words and was now just a large bundle of nerves. This served to turn Don on even more and he could feel both of their orgasms fast approaching. With a few more thrusts against each other, they both came with each other’s names on their lips.

As they came down from their high Don reached down and turned the vibrator off, carefully pulling it out of Raph and wrapping it in a nearby towel that he had left there for just that purpose. “So did you like your new toy Raphie?”

Raph’s brain hadn’t caught up enough for him to form any clear sentences yet. Instead he pulled Don down beside him and answered with a powerful kiss. Don got the message loud and clear.


	95. Tough Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 4th - Garden

Practice had been long and hard that day. Master Splinter was in charge and he wasn’t pulling any punches that day. They had started out with some basic katas but quickly moved on to more advanced and challenging ones. Just when the boys thought that they might have reached the end of what Master Splinter had planned for the lesson they were proved wrong.

They were split into pairs in order for them to spar against one another. The sparring would be with their weapons and they were paired up against their respective mates. Splinter wanted to be sure that even though each of them had formed deeper relationships with one brother in particular, that they would not allow those relationships to cloud their judgment in battle.

They needed to still be able to fight just as strongly as before. This meant that they couldn’t show favoritism towards their mate and could still treat all of their brothers the same on the battlefield. It was easy to say that they could do this but putting it into action would be something else entirely. Sparring against their mate with weapons was one way to help them with this.

Raph and Don were up first. They started by circling around one another looking for an opening where they could attack. Unlike his normal strategy, Raph showed some patience and waited for the right time to pounce. Master Splinter saw this as both an accomplishment in Raph’s training as well as something to watch out for. It was hard to tell if Raph had just learned to be more patient because of Don’s influence or if it was just because he was sparring against Don and didn’t want to attack him to harshly.

Some of Master Splinter’s fears were laid to rest when Don saw an opening in Raph’s defenses and moved in quickly. Raph was caught a bit off guard by Don’s sudden aggression and was quickly put on the defensive if he didn’t want to suffer a quick defeat.

Around halfway through the spar Raph was able to gain the upper hand by using Don’s analytical nature against him. Raph began moving in a series of patterns that were very typical of him in order to lull Don into a false sense of security.

It worked like a charm. As Don went to make a counter move to a step that he only thought Raph would make, he found himself suddenly without his bo and flying back across the room to land on his back. Before Don could even think about getting back up again Raph was on top of him with one of his sais resting against Don’s neck.

“Do you yield Donnie?” Raph asked with a smirk.

“I yield,” Don gave in since he knew that there was no way for him to break Raph’s hold with his weapon so close to his neck.

As Raph and Don left the practice mats, Leo and Mikey stepped onto them. Their match followed very similarly to Raph and Don’s with Leo coming out as the victor.

“Very good my sons. That will conclude training for today,” Master Splinter said. “Just remember, even a good garden may have some weeds in it. The trick is knowing where they are so that they don’t spread and overtake the rest of the garden.”


	96. Obsession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 5th - Touch

The whole family was sitting in the living room that evening watching a movie on tv. Don had seated himself on Raph’s lap in the side chair. Raph had originally gone to sit on the couch but Don had pulled him over to the chair instead. At first Raph hadn’t understood since there was only room for one but as soon as Don landed in his lap he decided that he liked the arrangement very much.

Don sighed happily as he sank farther into Raph’s hold and pressed up against him as much as he could. He wasn’t quite sure why but he had been craving Raph’s touch all day.

It had started from the moment Don woke up alone in his bed that morning. He had been up late the night before and didn’t want Raph to lose any sleep by waiting up for him. This meant that Don had spent the night alone in his bed without the comfort of Raph’s arms around him.

His obsession with touching Raph had continued throughout the entire day. Little things like brushing hands when Raph passed him his cup of coffee would capture his attention and he would lose focus on whatever he had been doing at the time.

Don’s fixation extended into practice as well. They were working on hand to hand combat and Don was paired up with Raph. This was both the best and the worst thing that could happen to Don at the moment.

He loved the fact that he would be able to touch and feel Raph move against him as much as he wanted. Don wasn’t too crazy about the fact that it meant that he was probably going to lose focus quite often during practice and would most likely be walking away with a few new bruises. He knew that Raph wouldn’t actually go so far as to hurt him but that didn’t mean that he would pull his punches and go easy on him either.

The feeling of Raph pressing his body against Don’s own when Raph finally got him pinned nearly caused Don to moan out loud in the middle of practice. Raph had clearly seen the desire in Don’s eyes. He didn’t know where it had come from but he was definitely going to have fun exploiting it for the rest of practice.

Even now, hours later and sitting in front of their family, Don still couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself. He had lost interest in the movie a while ago and was now just stroking his hand up and down Raph’s arm. The feel of the bulging muscles never failed to captivate Don’s attention.

The one drawback of Don caressing Raph’s arm like that was that it was making it very hard for Raph to concentrate on the movie. All he could think about was the way that Don’s hand was slowly making its way up and down his arm, touching his skin so softly. It was sending shivers down his spine and making it so that he couldn’t think about anything else.

Finally Raph couldn’t stand it anymore and stood up quickly from the chair, nearly dumping Donnie onto the ground. Without a care as to who was watching, Raph grabbed onto Don’s arms and started dragging his upstairs towards their bedrooms. The grin on Don’s face said that he didn’t mind at all despite the giggles coming from their remaining brothers still nestled together on the couch. His obsession with touching Raph throughout the day was about to pay off.


	97. Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 6th - Taste

It had been a very relaxing day in the Hamato household. Mikey was content to hang around with Leo during the day reading his comics while Leo meditated. Master Splinter was enjoying watching his stories on tv after practice had ended. They were holding a marathon today of his favorite episodes and he had made it clear that no one was to disturb him.

Don and Raph were very mellow as well. They had been up late the previous night enjoying the other's touch and the feeling of moving together. They had made love several times throughout the night. When they weren't actually making love they were running their hands over the body of their lover just enjoying the feel of being close to each other.

With Leo and Mikey otherwise occupied Don and Raph decided to start lunch on their own. They were planning on making burgers with some macaroni salad to go with them. As they worked on lunch they decided to taste test the ingredients as they went along.

When Don finished chopping up the vegetables to go in the salad he fed bites of them to Raph while he worked on grinding the meat for the burgers. As the pieces of vegetables were held up to Raph's lips he would take the opportunity to lean forward a bit and gently nip at the tips of Don's fingers.

Just as yesterday Don couldn't get enough of being able to touch Raph, today Raph couldn't seem to want to stop tasting Donnie. Any time he got a change to kiss him he took it, whether or not there was anyone else in the room at the time. The only time that he made any attempt to restrain himself was during practice.

Don was having just as much fun with Raph wanting to get a taste of him as Raph was. It was fun to be able to tease his mate by holding the food just out of his reach while Raph snapped playfully at him. He knew that Raph would never bite down too hard and hurt him but it was fun to see just how far he could push him.

When lunch was finished and eaten they went about their day in much the same way that preparing lunch had gone. There would be stolen kisses, licks, nips, and touches exchanged in shadowed corners all around the lair when no one else was looking until eventually that day had passed by and it was time to head up to bed.

Both were tired enough that they weren’t in the mood for sex but that didn’t mean that they couldn't enjoy each other’s company. They were both awake enough for a nice long make-out session however. From soft peck to long kisses they took their time exploring each other's mouths and enjoying the taste of their mate. It was something they each knew that they could quickly become addicted to.

Laying on their sides, pressed up against each other, they got as much contact as possible. While their mouths were moving their hands weren't sitting idly by doing nothing but were instead reaching for any part of their lover that they could feel.

Eventually the kisses started to slow the later it got into the night. They were still tired from last night and didn't intend on staying up too late. With a few final kisses they both settled down into the bed, pulled the covers up, and settled into each other’s arms to drift off to sleep.


	98. Pheromones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 7th - Smell

As the morning rolled around Don was pulled out of his slumber by the smell of coffee drifting through the room. Slowly he rolled over and stretched out on the bed reaching for his sleeping companion. When his arm felt nothing but empty air he cracked his eyes open and looked around. Don rolled over to his other side when he heard a chuckle coming from behind him.

“Looking for something?” Raph asked holding up two cups of coffee that the delicious aroma was emanating from.

“Yeah. You,” Don said as he sat up and made room in the bed for Raph to sit next to him.

Raph smiled as he crawled back into bed next to his lover. Carefully he handed one cup to Don and used his now free arm to wrap around Don’s shoulders and pull him closer. “I knew I’d get you up if I brought the right incentive,” Raph teased as he took a sip of his own coffee.

“The smell alone is definitely worth waking up for,” Don agreed as he took his own sip. “Thank you for this.”

“Not a problem Donnie. I like doing things like this for you,” murmured Raph. “Besides you should see the kitchen. It looks like a bomb went off in there. Leo was going to make cinnamon rolls but apparently Mikey distracted him while he was adding the flower to the mixer.”

Don nearly choked on the sip of coffee that he had been drinking when he heard Raph’s description of the kitchen. When he was finally able to stop couching and catch his breath Don leaned farther into Raph’s side while he let his giggles subside.

“That must have been a sight to see,” Don said as he wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. “Thank you for braving that mess to bring me coffee.”

“Trust me it was worth it Donnie-boy,” Raph said as he leaned his head down to nuzzle at Don’s cheek. Breathing in deeply he reveled in the intoxicating scent of his mate. “How is it that you always manage to smell so good Donnie? Whenever you’re near me all I can think about is your scent and how it drives me absolutely crazy.”

Setting his cup down on the bedside table Don turned so that he was tucked right up against Raph’s side. “I could ask the same thing about you Raph,” Don sighed. “I think it has something to do with pheromones. I know that your scent is always stronger in the morning, after a workout, or while we’re having sex and all three of those things have an increased amount of pheromones in common.”

“Well if I could bottle up yours than I would be one rich turtle,” Raph said as he sniffed Don’s neck again. “Men from everywhere would be lining up to buy it just to have the girls swarming all over them. We could put that Axe body spray out of business.”

“There’s just one problem with that plan,” Don said mischievously. “The only reason people would buy that would be because stores would be all sold out of your scent.”

Raph just laughed at Don’s remark as he brought him close for a kiss. Maybe it was best if he was the only one that got to smell Don. After all, he didn’t really want to compete with everyone that would be coming after the genuine article.


	99. Voices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 8th - Hear

Don and Raph had many things in common. Their love for machines was something that had drawn them together even before they became a couple. That was something that they still enjoyed working on together when they had the chance. Now though, they had found something else that they both had in common. They both loved hearing the sound of the other’s voice.

It was late and the rest of the lair was quiet. Everyone else had already retired to bed and they were now the only ones still awake. They were making an effort to be quiet so that no one else would hear them and so that they wouldn’t disturb anyone else in the lair.

Don lay back in his bed while Raph crawled along until he was completely covering him with his own body. With the feel of his mate’s larger body looming over him, Don couldn’t help but let out let out a low moan of lust. The moan was quickly swallowed up when Raph’s lips came down to claim his own.

If there was one thing that could turn Raph on faster than anything else it was the sound of Don moaning and churring beneath him. Those little sounds of pleasure let Raph know just how much Don was enjoying every tiny thing that Raph was doing to him. It never failed to heat Raph’s blood and make him hard.

Don felt very much the same way about Raph. Hearing his low, baritone voice never failed to send shivers down his spine. Sometimes Don wondered if all Raph would have to do to get him off would be to talk to him.

As Raph started moving his kisses lower Don listened to the steady churring coming from Raph’s chest. It was such a deep, comforting sound that had Don’s toes curling into the blanket.

Seeing Don’s reaction to his attention caused a deep chuckled to emanate from Raph’s throat. Hearing that chuckle, Don couldn’t keep himself tucked in any longer and he dropped down into the open air.

“Looks like someone’s getting impatient,” Raph smirked as he continued his slow exploration of Don’s neck and collarbone. “Is there something you want Donnie-boy?”

“Yes,” Don groaned as the sound of Raph’s voice travelled straight through him all the way to his cock.

He tried thrusting up against Raph to gain some sort of friction but Raph sneakily pulled away before Don could reach him. This caused a low whine to spring from throat. Raph nearly leered at the sound he heard coming from Don.

“Raph please,” Don was nearly begging. “Please stop teasing. I can’t take it anymore.”

The sound of Don begging beneath him was too much for Raph. He couldn’t hold back any longer. Grabbing the lube he had discarded earlier before he started teasing Don, he dropped down and covered himself before thrusting into the willing body beneath him.

They had both gotten so worked up from just listening to each other that they knew they wouldn’t be able to last very long. Raph began to move in and out of Don at a rapid pace, jerking his lover off as he did so. It wasn’t very long before they were both reaching their peak and crying out each other’s names.

When Raph pulled out and laid down beside Don they both curled up next to each other as close as they could get. It wasn’t the moans and groans of arousal that they heard from the other now. It was the sound of churring that comforted them as they drifted off to sleep.


	100. Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 9th - Feel

So far the day had been very calm and Don hoped that this would be the way that the day stayed. Days like this were some of his favorite. He had brought some of his work out into the living room so he could interact more with his family while they were doing their own things.

From his vantage point on the couch Don could see right into the dojo. He didn’t exactly mind the view either. Don had a clear line of sight right to where Raph was working out with his punching bag. Don could fully admit to himself that working where he could watch his mate working out may not be the best place in order to actually accomplish something today.

The way the muscles in Raph’s arms flexed hinted at the power that lay just beneath the skin. Don knew without a doubt that Raph could easily hurt him if he wished. Don was equally sure that he would never do such a thing. He could feel it in the very core of his being that Raph would never hurt him.

The way the Raph would grunt as he hit the bag made Don think back to the night before when they were wrapped in each other’s arms making love. It was so wonderful and it never failed to make Don feel so special that Raph had chosen to be with him in that way.

Everything about Raph, everything that he did had taken on a completely new tone ever since they had gotten together. It wasn’t just the more physical moments either. It was the way that Raph made him feel.

Don had always known that he was different from his brothers. His intelligence and his love of technology had always set him apart. Mikey was too impatient to listen and Leo got too confused and lost when Don tried to explain something when they were growing up.

It had always been Raph that that would sit with Don and try to listen to his ideas. Even when he didn’t understand something he would just tell Don to use smaller words. Raph was also the one that Don could always count on to accompany him to the junkyard. He may moan and groan about the trips but he had never let Don go alone when he asked for company.

Looking back Don could see where Raph’s feeling for him had come from. He had always been the one closest to Don since they were children. He had also always gone out of his way to make Don feel special, like he wasn’t all that different from them.

The only thing Don couldn’t figure out was why it had taken him so long to realize all of this. It had been staring him right in the face for years and it wasn’t until Raph admitted his feelings that Don started to get a clue. Some genius he was. No matter how it had started, Don was glad that he was with Raph now.

When one last punch from Raph tore a hole in the punching bag and sand went scattering across the floor Don couldn’t help but smile. Setting aside his laptop, Don stood up to go and get his repair kit. Raph had always gone out of his way to make Don feel special in the past. It was Don’s turn now.


	101. All That Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 10th - Peace

The lair was experiencing a rare state of peace that morning. The only thing that could come close to being a disturbance was the sound of explosions coming from the television.

Mikey had managed to pull Leo away from his extra training and convinced him to waste some time playing video games with him. Leo had been reluctant at first but Mikey had talked him into after a few tries. Arguing that video games helped with hand eye coordination and reaction times, Leo finally gave in.

Master Splinter had gone to his room after practice had finished and planned on meditating for most of the afternoon. He had been feeling a bit off and felt that it would be for the best if he were to rest for the day. As he headed to his room Master Splinter had requested that he not be disturbed unless it was absolutely necessary.

Don and Raph decided to head up to the garage to get some work done up there. It was a place that they could enjoy the peace and quiet while working together. They had worked on the vehicles together enough times now that they didn’t even need to speak anymore. Their movements around each other just came so naturally at this point.

Raph popped the hood to the Battle Shell to take a look at the engine, check the oil, and make sure that everything was in working order. While Raph was doing that, Don rolled underneath the van to check on the axel rod and the brakes so that nothing unexpected would happen when they were driving.

One of the bolts that held the axel rod into place was starting to come loose and Don needed to tighten it before it became a driving hazard. He had just barely started to roll out from underneath the van when his toolbox was nudged into his arm’s reach by an emerald foot.

With a smile Don reached out and grabbed the tool that he needed. As he slid back under the van he let one foot trail over to where Raph was standing and gently caressed his ankle. These were the little unspoken gestures that let each of them know that the other was thinking about them. They each knew the other as well as they knew themselves and took the time to show that.

This was something that they both enjoyed doing immensely. Spending this quiet time together with nothing to distract from each other was almost a rarity and something to be held close and cherished. They didn’t want to isolate themselves from their family but they also needed time to just be together outside of spending the nights together.

This was what peace meant to them. It wasn’t that they would never have to fight or use their ninja skills ever again. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t end up in battle fighting for their lives. It was the moments in between. The times that they spent together. They didn’t even have to be doing anything of any real significance as long as they were together. That’s all that mattered.


	102. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 11th - War

It was a clear night outside while Raph and Don jumped from roof to roof. Raph had felt cooped up in the lair and had wanted to go topside and stretch his legs. Leo had suggested that he might benefit from a run across the city and that it would be safer if someone went with him. Don had quickly volunteered to go for a run with Raph.

The air outside was a little chilly but nothing they couldn’t handle. So far there hadn’t been much activity down on the street level but they were still keeping their eyes and ears open for anything that sounded like something that might need their intervention.

Raph wasn’t the only one that was hoping to see some action that night. Don had spent a while in his lab working on different projects and he had a fair amount of energy to burn. He was almost hoping that they would run across some sort of mugging or a small break in that way he could get rid of some of his pent up energy.

When they had hit the rooftops they had decided to take their normal patrol route. This took them through the areas that were the most likely to have late night activity and therefore the most likely to give them a chance to see some action.

They were around halfway through the patrol route when Raph, who was slightly ahead of Don, came to a stop and held up a hand indicating that Don should do the same. With a few quick steps, Don was at Raph’s side and listening for what had caught his attention.

What he heard was the sound of shuffling feet and some thuds coming from the alley on the other side of the building. Quickly and quietly Raph and Don made their way over to the edge of the roof and glanced down into the alley. What they saw down there looked like a small gang war had just taken place.

There were broken pieces of glass scattered across the ground with a few teens laying unconscious or injured. Normally neither Raph nor Don would have gotten involved in a dispute between two rival gangs. There was typically no innocent party that needed protection and most of the time the kids had brought it on themselves. Unless someone was in danger of dying, they preferred to stay out of it and let the gangs fight their own battles in their war with each other.

The thing that caught their attention tonight however was two small children hiding behind a dumpster. Neither Raph nor Don were sure how they had gotten caught in that situation but they knew they had to do something. What they were sure of however was if they didn’t do something soon those kids would be found by one of the gang members and there was no doubt that they would end up getting hurt or worse.

With barely a glance at each other they slipped into the shadows and got ready to descend down into the alley. When they were close enough they leaped from their respective spots and landed directly on top of two of the gang members. By staying to the shadows and blending into the night Raph and Don were nearly impossible to see.

It wasn’t very long before they had either incapacitated the teens that had still been standing or sent them running from the alleyway. When he was sure that Raph could handle any remaining threat Don slipped over to where the two children were hiding.

“Are you guys okay?” Don asked while still making sure that he couldn’t be seen.

When he received a quick nod from the older of the two children Don allowed himself to relax slightly. At least they hadn’t been hurt in the fighting.

“Okay,” Don told them. “My brother and I are going to call the police. You guys need to wait here. They’ll make sure you get home safely.”

Once he was sure that he was understood, Don started climbing back up to the roof while Raph grabbed his shell cell and made a quick call to the police. Once on the roof, they wait to make sure that the kids were safe before turning to head home.

“We did good tonight,” Raph said as they continued to run back to the lair.

“Yeah we did,” Don agreed. “I guess it’s a good thing we both had too much energy after all.”

Raph just smirked as he put on a burst of speed as a silent challenge for Don to try and keep up. It was a challenge that Don was positive that he could meet.


	103. Wondering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 12th - Love

Leo glanced over at his two middle brothers from where he stood stretching in the dojo before practice started. Don was laying on his back with Raph between legs pushing one of them back towards Don’s chest in order to stretch the muscle. Leo couldn’t help but notice the way the neither of them broke eye contact with the other.

Going into a simple kata, Leo subtly made his way closer to his brothers so he could better observe their behavior with each other. There was something about the way that they acted around the other that intrigued Leo. It was similar to how he and Mikey acted together but it was also different.

The way they were pressed together could easily be construed as sexual in nature. There was definitely a look of lust in each of their eyes as they looked at the other but that wasn’t the only expression on their faces. There was also so much love shining through the looks that they gave each other that Leo was almost hesitant to interrupt them to start practice.

Once Leo got them all going he still couldn’t help but be distracted by watching how Raph and Don moved together. Leo had instructed that they partner up and begin with a low impact, sparring session with no weapons.

They weren’t putting their full weight behind their punches but they weren’t holding back either. They also moved in almost perfect sync with each other. From what Leo could see it was like they could read the mind of their mate and knew what they were going to do right before they did it.

Leo wondered if he and Mikey looked the same way Raph and Don did. Did they move together as a single being? Could everyone around them feel the love that he had for his smaller mate just by the way he looked at him? How did it come so easily to Don and Raph? Was it just because they had been together for so long or did it just come naturally to them?

These were all things that went through Leo’s mind as he watched his brothers spar together. It made him wonder if he and Mikey would ever experience the kind of love that Raph and Don seemed to have. He knew that he tried his best to show Mikey how much he meant to him but he wasn’t sure that it was enough.

Leo had considered asking Raph for some advice but he felt that was almost too embarrassing. He had already had to ask him about how to tell Mikey about his feelings. He didn’t want to ask for anything else. Raph had never seemed to have that problem. He knew what he wanted and he went for it.

Raph wasn’t the only one that impressed Leo when it came to working on a relationship. Don also had that distinction. Leo had noticed how Don went out of his way to include Raph in his everyday schedule. He made a point of trying to work outside of his lab more often and had cleaned off a space for Raph to work with him in his lab.

It worried Leo sometimes that Mikey might have made a bad decision about choosing him. What if he couldn’t show Mikey how much he loved him the way Raph and Don seemed to be able to do with one another?

Glancing over to his side Leo managed to catch Mikey’s eyes with his own. The look on his face nearly stole Leo’s breath away. The depth of the love he saw shining there told him he had nothing to worry about. Mikey knew just how much Leo loved him and felt the same about him in return.


	104. Unlucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 13th - Hate

So far Raph was not having a good day. He had been really tired the night before and so had gone to bed in his room alone early in the evening. The problem came that morning when the alarm on his clock had failed to go off and he overslept. He ended up ten minutes late to practice and Don had to come and wake him up. That meant that he had to stay after and do fifty back flips for being late which he wasn’t thrilled about.

When he was done with that Raph had headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat since he had missed breakfast. Don was in the kitchen grabbing a cup of coffee before heading into his lab to work for the day. When Raph opened the cupboard he growled when he realized that his cereal was missing.

“Where’s my cereal?” Raph grumbled.

“Um, I think that Mikey finished the cereal this morning for breakfast,” Don said with a shrug. “There are some bananas on the table though.”

Raph sighed as he looked at the bananas that were sitting innocently on the table. While Raph may not have outright hated bananas he wasn’t a big fan of them either and planned on turning them down. His stomach had other ideas however and choose that moment to rumble loudly at him and remind him that he hadn’t eaten anything yet that day.

With a sigh Raph picked up one of the bananas and started peeling it. “So what do you have planned today Don?” Raph asked as he took a bite of the fruit.

“I was planning on working on some of the explosives that we keep in the Battle Shell,” Don told him as he finished the last bit of coffee in his mug. “We’re running low on a few of them so it would be a good idea for me to make more. That means that I’m going to be in my lab for most of the day since I need it very quiet to work. What do you have planned?”

“Don’t really have much of a plan for today,” mumbled Raph. “I just hope that it gets better from what’s happened so far.”

Don gave Raph an encouraging smile and a kiss on his cheek as he walked out of the kitchen and made his way to his lab. Knowing that Don didn’t want to be disturbed and having nothing better to do, Raph headed into the living room with the intention of watching something on tv.

Luck was on his side for the first time that day when he saw that no one was currently in control of the remote. Hurrying over so no one could take it before he got there, Raph grabbed the remote before flopping down onto the couch and starting to relax.

His feeling of triumph didn’t last very long however. As soon as he turned the tv on and started flipping through the channels, Raph quickly realized that there was nothing on that he was even remotely interested in watching.

With a sigh of annoyance he turned off the tv, laid down on the couch, and covered his eyes with his arm. He had absolutely no intention of moving anywhere until the day decided to get better. This was exactly where Don found him a few hours later when he came out of his lab to go and get some lunch.

“Hey Raph,” Don said as he wandered over to the couch. “What are you doing?”

“Hoping the day can just be over now,” Raph answered. “Nothing’s gone right since I woke up this morning and even that was messed up. I hate Friday the thirteenth. It’s just really getting on my nerves now.”

Don chuckled at his mate’s complaints. “Well let me go and grab something to eat and then why don’t you and I head upstairs,” Don suggested in a low voice. “I could use a break and I’m sure we could think of something to do in a locked bedroom that could turn the day around.”


	105. Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 14th - Chair

Don had been busy all morning running in and out of his lab. Every time he sat down to start working on something in his lab something else came up that made him have to set his work aside. He had been patient with all of the interruptions at first but now they were really starting to get on his nerves.

He didn't mind being the Mr. Fix-it of the family but it was annoying at times. He had projects of his own that he wanted to work on and it was difficult to do that when he had to constantly stop to do repair work in the lair. It was getting a bit better now that Raph was learning how to do some of the minor repairs. He was still learning however and couldn't yet do everything that Don knew how to do.

This was one of those days where the problems that were coming up in the lair were ones that only Don had the expertise to handle. So far today the pilot light in the stove had gone out and refused to come back on. This had made it impossible for Mikey to work in the kitchen and make lunch so he had bothered Donnie until he had come out to take a look at it.

As soon as that was finished Master Splinter had sought him out because there was something wrong with the tv. Master Splinter and Leo had wanted to watch a special over Japanese culture and a history of the ninja. The channel kept going fuzzy however and there was only a little while left before their show would come on.

When that was fixed and Master Splinter and Leo had expressed their gratitude Don made a beeline for his lab with the intention of locking himself inside and not answering the door except in the case of an emergency.

The door was closed and locked as soon as Don was across the threshold. Sighing Don leaned back against the door and closed his eyes in an attempt to relax. The sound of chuckling from farther in his lab caused his eyes to fly open again however. Sitting in his computer chair in the middle of the room was Raph.

“How’s it going Donnie-boy?” Raph chuckled.

“I feel about ready to drop already and it’s barely past lunchtime,” Don muttered as he stayed leaning against the door with no energy to move. “What are you doing in here?”

“I was waiting for you to come back in here,” Raph told him.

With a slight leer and a pat to his lap, Raph indicated that Don should join him over on the chair. Don gave him a weak smile as he took the invitation and crossed the room and straddled Raph's lap in his chair.

“So what do I owe this pleasant surprise to?” Don asked as he placed a chaste kiss to Raph’s lips.

“Well you helped me out yesterday when I wasn’t having a good day and now you need the same thing,” Raph told him as he stole his own kiss.

Reaching a hand back, Raph ran his fingertips along the length of Don’s tail. With a moan, Don’ tail wiggled in Raph’s grasp, happy at the attention it was receiving. The churrs that were coming from both of them were swallowed by the kisses that were growing far more heated and hungry.

They were just starting to think about moving to a different location that would give them more room to maneuver when an ominous creek came from the chair that they were sitting on. Before they could understand what was happening there was a loud crack and they both went tumbling to the floor as the chair gave out under their combined weight.

The wind was knocked out of Raph as Don landed on top of him and they both groaned for reasons unrelated to their previous activity. Sitting up Don looked over to what had once been his favorite computer chair.

“You do realize that you’re coming to the dump with me to help me find a new chair right?” Don asked Raph.

Raph just nodded and rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck. “Yeah sure,” Raph agreed. “You know though, we still have some time before it’s dark enough for us to go out. Why don’t you say we make the most of this alone time?”

The shove that pushed him back on his carapace and the kiss that stole his breath away was answer enough.


	106. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 15th - Fight

"What were you thinking Raphael?" Leo nearly shouted.

He had one of Raph's arms draped over his shoulder as he helped Don guide Raph into the lair. Mikey ran ahead of his brothers to make sure that everything was set up in the medical bay just the way that Don liked it. Raph growled and tried to shake off Leo's hold on him but Leo just tightened his grip.

“Will you stop struggling Raph,” ordered Leo. “You took a hard hit to your thick skull and can’t even stand up straight on your own.”

“I’m fine Leo,” Raph growled as he kept trying to pull away.

With a giant tug he was able to pull out of Leo’s grasp and tried to stand on his own. He even managed to stand on his own for a moment before he became dizzy and started to tip over. Luckily Don was still standing close by and managed to grab hold of him before he hit the floor.

"Stop being stubborn Raph and let us help you," Don said tersely as he yanked Raph upright again.

Leo took hold of Raph's arm and put it back over his shoulder much to Raph's annoyance. With limited difficulty Leo and Don got Raph into the medical bay and up onto the cot where they had to sit when Don would check them out when they got hurt.

"He's all yours Don," Leo said as he left the medical bay to go and wash off the blood that had gotten on him from Raph’s head wound.

Mikey followed behind Leo so Don could work with fewer distractions. Once he and Raph were alone, Don turned away from him so he could gather together the equipment that he would need. The bang that sounded when Don slammed his tools down caused Raph to flinch.

"Hey Don," Raph moaned. "Can you be a little quieter please? I have a splitting headache. Leo's griping on our way back didn't exactly help either."

“He had every right to gripe at you Raph,” Don told him through pinched lips. “If Mikey hadn’t moved fast enough you would have lost your head. You do realize that don’t you?”

“It isn’t that big of a deal Donnie. I just ended up with a little scratch,” Raph said trying to calm his mate down as Don stitched the cut on his head.

“It is a big deal Raph,” Don all but shouted. His hands weren’t too gentle as he finished the stitches and wrapped a bandage around Raph’s head but he couldn’t seem to make himself care at the moment. “Normally I try not to take a side in your fights with Leo but this time I have to agree with him. If it weren’t for Mikey you wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

Raph forced himself to stand and face Don head on. “It’s not like I intended to get hurt,” Raph said belligerently. “I made a mistake. I don’t need a lecture from both you and Leo when you know that it’s just going to lead to a fight.”

Don knew logically that some of what was causing Raph to behave the way he was, was due to the fact that he had a concussion from the blow to his head. That didn’t change the fact that Don was still becoming infuriated with their fight however.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself back down Don carefully set his tools down and faced his mate. “If you really feel that way than you can sleep in your own room tonight so you won’t have to listen to me lecture you,” Don said through clenched teeth. “Because I don’t want you in my room tonight.”

Hurt flashed across Raph’s face for just a moment before he covered it up with his go to safety of anger. “Fine if you want to be that way than I’ll just head to my room now. Goodnight Donatello,” Raph said as he turned on his heel and stormed out of the medical bay.

Don’s shoulders slumped and he watched his mate storm out of the room and leave him alone. He knew that he had been harsh on Raph but he had almost lost him today and that scared him. Sighing Don started to pick up the tools he had used to patch up Raph. He would talk to him tomorrow. Right now he was still too upset but tomorrow was a new day.


	107. Return of the Apron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 16th - Make Up

Raph woke up that morning with a splitting headache from where he had gotten hit the night before. The ache in his head was nothing compared to the ache in his heart however. He was alone in his hammock and he knew that he only had himself to blame for it. Raph knew that he had made a mistake but it hurt to have Don saying that to him and not just Leo.

With a sigh Raph sat up and got out of his hammock slowly. He knew that he would have to apologize to Don and it wasn’t going to be easy. He had acted like a complete ass last night and Don still had every reason to stay angry with him. He was going to have to pull out all of the stops in order to make up with his mate.

When Raph entered the kitchen to grab some breakfast Don ignored the fact that he was there and kept going with his own routine, paying no attention to Raph. Apparently Don hadn’t gotten the message that Raph was going to try and apologized to him.

Raph decided to let Don be for the moment and talk to him after practice. This would give Don some extra time to cool down from last night. It would also give Raph a chance to show both Don and Leo that what had happened when he got hurt was just a one time mistake and not something that indicated a lack of skill on Raph’s part.

Practice was awkward at best that day. Don did his best to keep some distance between himself and Raph. At the same time Leo made it clear that he was still annoyed with Raph and was determined to put him through his paces during practice. Raph fought back as hard as he could and by the end of practice had managed to begin working his way back into Leo's good graces.

When they were dismissed from practice Don made a beeline for his lab. Raph wasn't going to let things keep going like this without talking to Don and at least trying to make up with him. He knew that it would probably take more than a verbal apology but it would at least be a good place to start.

“Hey Donnie,” Raph said as he quietly walked into the lab and closed the door behind him. “Can I talk to you?”

Don spun around in the new chair they had found together so he could face his lover. “Sure Raph,” he said almost tiredly.

“I wanted to apologize for how I acted last night,” Raph began hesitantly. “I screwed up and I didn’t want to admit it. I took it out on you and that wasn’t right so I’m sorry.”

“You scared me Raph,” explained Don. “You came so close to being killed. I can’t lose you Raph. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

Raph walked over to Don until he could pull him out of his chair and wrap his arms around the genius. “You aren’t gonna lose me Donnie,” Raph assured him. “It will take a whole lot more than some Foot goon to keep me away from you.”

“I know. It doesn’t stop me from worrying though,” Don told him. “But I still accept your apology.”

“Okay, as long as we’re good,” said Raph as he pulled back. “I’m gonna let you get back to work now. I’ll see you for dinner okay?”

“Sure thing Raph,” Don answered with a smile as he sat back down in his chair.

Once Don was occupied with his work Raph turned and left the lab. He needed to go and find Leo and put into place everything he would need to really make it up to Don for being such an ass last night.

~

Glancing up at the clock on the wall Don took a look at the time. It was time for dinner and his stomach was telling him that it was very interested in food at the moment. Saving his work, Don closed down the programs that he was working on and left the lab.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped into the hallway was how quiet it was. The delicious smell coming from the kitchen distracted him from that thought however. Following his nose Don headed to the kitchen to find the source of the delicious smell. He could always figure out where everyone else was later. When he actually walked into the kitchen it wasn’t the food the Don noticed, it was what was sitting on the table in front of the food.

Sitting on the kitchen table was Raph. The thing that caused Don’s breath to catch in his throat and his heart to skip a beat was what Raph was wearing though. Tied around Raph’s plastron was a bright red and slightly frilly apron. It hugged around Raph’s hips where it was tied and the edge brushed against the bottom of Raph’s plastron.

After a few tries Don was able to find enough moisture in his mouth to be able to form words. "What's, what's all this for Raph?" Don asked while his eyes dragged over Raph's body.

"I know that I already said that I was sorry but I figured that you deserved more than that," Raph nearly purred as he leaned back to give Don a better view. "Like what you see?"

Nodding Don walked foreword without taking his eyes off of Raph. "Very much," Don said as he ran his hands up Raph’s sides causing him to shiver. “Please tell that we’re alone right now.”

“Everyone is at April’s for dinner. We have the whole lair to ourselves for at least a few hours,” Raph said as Don attached his mouth to his neck.

With a few quick moves Don had worked his way in between Raph’s legs. While his mouth moved up to claim Raph’s lips his hands moved down to grasp at Raph’s ass and wiggling tail. Churrs filled the kitchen as their hands ran over each other, tracing familiar muscles. The feel of Don’s hands massaging him was too much stimulation for Raph as his erection dropped into view.

“Where’s the lube?” Don asked looking around.

“Don’t need it,” Raph moaned. “I’m already prepped. I didn’t want to wait.”

“You’re a genius,” Don groaned as he dropped down and thrust into the willing body in front of him.

The feel of Don inside of him and the apron teasing against the tip of his cock had Raph panting and moaning in a matter of minutes. The sweat on his body was causing the material of the apron to cling even more than it was before, turning Don on even more.

Don may not have topped often in their relationship but he knew what felt good. With one smooth movement he brought his hands down from Raph’s ass, grabbed onto his calves, and raised them up over his shoulders increasing the angle of his thrusts.

Raph nearly screamed as Don’s thrusts hit his prostate dead on. With Don punching that bundle of nerves and the apron brushing against his erection it was too much for Raph to handle. He yelled Don’s name as he climaxed all over his stomach and apron. The sight of Raph writhing beneath him and the clenching of his inner walls around Don’s cock sent Don over the edge.

As they both calmed down Don remained buried inside Raph too tired to move for the moment.

“We should fight more often,” Don panted. Seeing Raph’s confused expression Don explained, “The make up sex is awesome.”


	108. Question of Honor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 17th - Gun

It was getting to be later in the evening but instead of heading out to go on patrol of the city the brothers were staying in that night. Raph had been complaining about a headache during the day and Leo was worried that the blow Raph had taken to the head two nights ago might still be affecting him.

He didn't want to risk being topside and having Raph get hurt because he wasn't one hundred percent. A lot of the Purple Dragons that they fought were carrying guns with them more often. Leo didn’t want to take the chance of one of them getting a lucky shot in on Raph just because he wasn’t feeling well.

Instead they were going to have a movie marathon on the couch as a family. It had been decided on a Western theme for the movies. Drinks had been gathered and snacks, including popcorn and candy, were sitting on the coffee table within easy reach.

Leo had taken a seat on the chair and had pulled Mikey into his lap so he could hold him close. Raph had claimed one end of the couch while Don had decided to lay across the couch and use Raph’s leg as a pillow. Don was also given control of the remote so there would be no arguing as the night went on. Once everyone was all situated Don turned on the first movie in the lineup and they all settled down to watch.

The first movie went by with a lot of laughter and thrown popcorn between the two couples. It was to the point that none of them could have given a good description about what the movie was about when it was done. By the time the second movie started things had calmed down considerably.

It was during the second movie that the commentary started about the quality of the acting and the plot or plot holes. Don enjoyed pointing out any historical inaccuracies that he could find. Raph became very rowdy during the fight scenes, encouraging the guys he liked the best. Mikey liked any scene that involved the cowboys with their horses and Leo kept getting caught up in the use of the weapons.

“Why is it always guns?” Leo muttered to himself.

Don twisted so he could get a better look at his oldest brother. “What was that Leo?”

“Oh I was just wondering about why in movies they always fight with guns,” Leo said without looking away from the scene. At that point the cowboys were fighting using guns against an attacking group of Indians that were wielding bows and arrows. “I mean where’s the honor of using guns against your enemy.”

“It isn’t about honor Leo,” Raph pointed out. “That’s what they used back then. Besides, it’s just a movie.”

“Also,” Don said. “It’s not the tool that is honorable or dishonorable. It’s just a piece of metal. It’s how it’s used that matters. In this case it’s the good guys using the guns to protect the people and place that they care about. You can’t tell me that that’s not honorable.”

Leo sighed at Don’s reasoning. It was always difficult to argue with his brainy brother. “But where’s the skill?” he asked. “You point the gun, pull the trigger, and kill someone without ever getting close to them.”

“That’s part of the skill,” Don said as he grabbed a handful of popcorn. “They’re on horses, using a weapon that was prone to misfiring, and shooting at a target that keeps moving. If that isn’t some kind of skill, I don’t know what is.”

As Leo opened his mouth to continue the argument Mikey took a handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth. “Leo it’s just a movie,” Mikey told him as he tried not to choke. “Just shut up and enjoy it.”

Leo just shook his head good naturedly as he swallowed the food in his mouth. Pulling Mikey closer he decided that for now he could just enjoy the movie and being with his family.


	109. Mightier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 18th - Sword

It was morning in the lair and the boys were just finishing up their breakfast and getting ready to head into the dojo for practice. Master Splinter had already informed them that they should be well rested and prepared because he would be leading practice that day and that they would be mixing things up a bit.

This had the boys slightly on edge because when Master Splinter decided to change up the routine it usually wasn’t to make things easier for them. In fact most of the time it just made things harder and pushed them past their comfort zones.

Usually they weren’t given any warning at all when normal practice would be changed and it was just sprung on them when they walked into the dojo. None of them were sure which way they preferred it. With the heads up it did give them some time to mentally prepare for whatever strange thing Master Splinter might be throwing their way. On the other hand it also gave them time to over think it and let the warning start to mess with their heads.

When they first walked into the dojo they noticed nothing out of place however. All they saw was Master Splinter sitting in a lotus position in the middle of the floor, meditating, as he waited for his sons to join him. As one they walked in until they were all standing in front of their master and knelt in front of him.

Once his sons were settled in front of him Master Splinter spoke. “For today’s practice you will each be sparring against your chosen partner,” he informed them looking down the line at the two couples. “There will be one difference from your normal sparring however. You will not be allowed to use your signature weapons. I want to be sure that you can still fight on even if you lose the weapon that you have already mastered. You will have two minutes to find a replacement, starting now.”

None of them waited very long before they were up and looking for a new weapon to use. They were all capable of using more than just their chosen weapon, it was just the one that had mastered and were the most comfortable with. While they were all also trained in hand to hand combat, none of them wanted to go up against a brother with a weapon empty handed.

Leo very quickly headed for the weapons rack and grabbed a naginata, a long staff with a blade at the end. Mikey went and took the kusarigama, a bladed weapon on a chain, in the hopes that he could get past Leo’s defense. Raph made a beeline for the swords knowing that they were similar in a way to his own bladed weapon.

Don took the longest in choosing his weapon. He knew that he was going to be paired with Raph and so waited until he had chosen his own weapon. Once Don saw Raph take the swords he left the dojo and returned with a ballpoint pen from his lab.

Before anyone could comment on Don’s choice of weapon Master Splinter moved Leo and Mike to the side and indicated for Raph and Don to begin their spar. They bowed to each other before circling to look for a weakness that they could attack.

“What’s with the pen Donnie,” Raph teased. “You’re gonna get creamed with that thing. How exactly do you expect to hold me off with that?”

Don just smirked at Raph’s question. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ Raph?” Don asked as he twirled the pen around in his fingers without looking at it.

“I’ve heard it but you can’t actually think that will hold up in a battle,” Raph snorted.

Without waiting any longer Raph charged in towards Don knowing that there was no way that the pen would be able to withstand the force of the sword. Before Raph could take two steps Don quickly snapped the pen in half with his fingers and flicked the free ink towards Raph’s exposed eyes.

Raph saw the ink coming just in time to close and protect his eyes. This made him vulnerable to the second part of Don’s attack however. With his eyes closed he never saw Don moving in past the point where a sword could be effective.  
Don quickly knocked one leg out from underneath Raph and used his body weight to send him to the floor. After that it was simply a matter of pinning his mate down until he yielded.

“Very good Donatello,” Master Splinter announced. “Let that be a lesson to all of you that sometimes the best weapons are not the most obvious ones.”


	110. Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 19th - Magic

Don had always considered himself a turtle of science. He looked for answers and reasons for why things were the way they were. If he didn’t know then he looked it up. If he couldn’t find the answer in the research he did that just meant that he hadn’t found it yet, not that it didn’t exist. As far as Don was concerned there was always a scientific explanation for everything.

Raph on the other hand was content not to know all of the answers. He was fine with there being things in the world that he couldn’t explain. Don’s near obsession with knowing everything was something that he just couldn’t understand. It was something about Don that he loved about his mate even though he just couldn’t understand it. As far as Raph was concerned part of the fun with some things was the not knowing.

Earlier in the day Raph and Mikey had been watching a magic show on tv. Leo had been practicing his katas in the dojo and Don was over at the pond working on the mini submarine that they had.

Mikey was cheering every time that the magician did another trick. Even though Raph had seen most of the tricks before he was still having a good time watching the showmanship and having fun with his youngest brother. Mikey’s joy over such simple things never failed to amaze Raph and it was something that he liked being a part of.

After a while Don finished up working on the sub and made his way over to the couch to get a closer look at what they were watching. He was careful not to touch the couch as he wiped off the oil and other bits of dirt that had collected on his hands and arms. After one particular trick that had Mikey cheering and clapping louder than before Don just shook his head in confusion.

“I don’t get what’s so great about magic shows,” Don said as he stared at the screen. “It’s not real. It’s just a bunch of slight of hand and tricking people into watching the pretty assistant instead of what the magician is doing. Each of those tricks can very easily be explained if you just watch carefully enough.”

“Wow Don. Way to bring down the house,” Mikey quipped without turning away from watching the show.

“But how is it any fun when you know that it isn’t real?” Don questioned.

When Raph saw that Mikey wasn’t planning on answering he turned to Don. “It’s not about whether it’s real or not. Not knowing how it’s done is half the fun. You get to be surprised by what happens because you don’t have an explanation for it.”

Don shrugged at the explanation. “I guess I just don’t see the point of calling something magic when it has a perfectly reasonable rationalization in the real world.”

“You sure didn’t mind saying that I had magic fingers last night Brainiac,” Raph teased.

Mikey was finally pulled away from the tv by that. “Eww. Too much information guys,” he complained as he got up and wandered to the kitchen in search of something to drink.

Don cheeks heated at Raph words and Mikey’s reaction. “That’s because there is no possible scientific explanation for what you can do with them,” Don said. “But if you think that you can give one than I am more than willing to study your method.”

The leer that crossed Raph’s face said that he was more than willing to teach Don a thing or two in the ways of magic.


	111. Summer Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 20th - Swim

It was late in the evening and most everyone had already retired to bed for the night. Don and Raph were the two exceptions. They had curled up together on the couch watching a movie a few hours ago and had yet to move. The movie had ended but they were too comfortable to want to move so they decided to just stay there for a while. Tomorrow was Saturday anyway and they didn’t have practice in the morning so they weren’t too worried about not getting enough sleep.

Raph was laying back against the arm of the couch with his own arms wrapped around Don’s shoulders. Don was curled between Raph’s legs, leaning back against his plastron. Don had his arms loosely wrapped around Raph’s waist and his head pillowed just were Raph’s plastron ended and skin began. The steady beat of his lover’s heart was very soothing and if he wasn’t careful he could easily fall asleep right where he was.

“Summer’s on its way,” Raph said softly breaking the quiet.

“Mhh,” Don hummed opening his eyes that had drifted shut. “Yeah only two month from today.”

“Really?” Raph asked scrunching up his face in thought. “It feels like it should be sooner with the nice weather that we’ve been having lately. It’s been really nice the past few nights that we’ve gone on patrol. I would have thought it was closer.”

Don yawned as he tried to scoot closer into Raph’s hold. “I guess that makes sense,” Don conceded sleepily. “What about summer are you looking forward to the most?”

Raph was quiet for a moment as he thought over his answer. “I guess it would be going up to the farmhouse,” he said after a while. “We get to walk around outside without having to worry about being seen by any humans. Remember when we talked about going up there? Just the two of us.”

Don nodded in agreement without saying anything.

“I still think that sounds like a really good idea,” Raph thought out loud. “It would give us some time for it to be just the two of us. Not having to worry about having to go on patrol. We’d probably have to promise Fearless to practice while we were up there in order for him to sign off on it though.

“Getting to bask in the sunlight would also be quite nice. We don’t really get to do that here in the city. Too much of a risk of getting caught to go topside for too long in the daylight. And as turtles we need to be able to bask for our health. The lamps you made for us do the job but there’s nothing like real sunlight.

“I think the thing I’d like to do the most though would be to go for a swim in the pond. You know the one that’s about a two-mile hike into the woods. It would be all nice and secluded and no one would be around for miles. There’s nowhere around here for us to swim. Most of the water around here is too dirty for that. Much too dirty for what I’d like to do to you in the lake.”

Raph looked down to see what Don’s reaction to his last statement was. The light snore that Don gave wasn’t quite the response he was looking for. 

A soft smile crossed Raph’s lips as he looked at the relaxed face of his smaller lover. With the stealth that he had learned growing up as a ninja Raph carefully pulled a blanket over them and turned the tv off without disturbing Don. There was no need to wake him up just to go upstairs to a bedroom. And besides, Raph was quite comfortable right where he was.


	112. Relax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 21st - Bath

Don was nearly limping as he walked out of the dojo at the end of practice that night. Leo had been put in charge of practice and he was determined to put them through their paces.

They had gone through some of the most advanced katas that they had learned until Leo felt that they had them down perfectly. Once that was complete they began sparring against each other. By the end of practice each of the four had sparred against each of the others. Leo hadn’t gone easy on any of them and they were all panting and ready to drop by the end.

Don was now very sore and very tired by the time they were dismissed from practice. He made it all the way to the couch before collapsing onto it face first with no intention of moving until he absolutely had to. Mikey had already called dibs on the first shower and so there was no reason for Don to pry himself away from the soft cushions of the couch.

Raph chuckled as he walked up behind Don and looked down at his tired mate. “A little sore from practice Donnie-boy?” Raph asked in a teasing tone.

“Shut up Raph,” Don’s muffled voice came from between the cushions. “I’m sore and my muscles are killing me because Leo decided to go all alpha turtle tonight in practice just to impress Mikey and now I don’t want to move for at least a year.”

Raph couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled up from his chest at Don’s words. Without giving Don a chance to react, Raph quickly got onto the couch and straddled the back of Don’s thighs.

Surprised by the action Don nearly jumped up but was stopped by Raph’s weight on top of him. “Raph what are you doing?” Don exclaimed.

“Relax Don,” Raph told him as he pushed Don back down. “I’m just gonna rub your shoulders and try and work out some of the knots in them. I guess it wasn’t such a good idea to fall asleep on the couch last night. It ain’t the best place to sleep if you’re looking for comfort.”

With a low moan Don began to relax a bit as Raph ran his hands over his shoulders in light circles and began to work out some of the kinks. “That may be true,” Don agreed between moans, “but I can’t complain about the pillow that I had. You were very comfortable in that regard.”

As he continued to massage Don’s shoulders Raph leaned down so that he could whisper in his ear. “How about when Mikey gets out of the bathroom when go in and take a nice, hot, relaxing bath together,” Raph suggested. “We can even put in some of that scented bubble stuff that you like. It will help relax all of your muscles.”

Don gave another moan at what Raph was describing. A bath sounded just perfect at that point and if Raph was offering to join him than that made it even better. He was sure that they could find something to do that would help him relax.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caused both Raph and Don to turn their heads. Mikey came strolling out in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist. With matching grins the couple quickly rolled off the couch and nearly ran to the bathroom. The bathtub was calling their names.


	113. Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 22nd - Eyes

Don tossed around in his bed as dreams of a possible future disturbed his sleep. He was alone in his bed having stayed up late after his bath with Raph and he didn’t want to bother his mate by waking him up as he crawled into bed. The images that he saw behind his closed eyelids were starting to make him regret that decision.

_It was smoky and hard to see in what remained of the Shredder’s fortress. He had to find Raph. He had last heard him yelling out Leo’s name so that was where he needed to check first. Everything seemed like it had gone to hell the moment they broke into the building._

_He had to know that Raph was okay. That was the only thing going through Don’s mind at the moment. He would check on everyone else, patch up any injuries that the rebels had suffered, as soon as he knew that his mate was okay._

_Once Don had extracted himself from the remains of his battle suit he scanned the room looking for any signs that Raph was still there. His breath caught when he saw two turtle shaped masses over by a pile of rubble. As fast as his feet could carry him Don was over at their side._

_It was Leo and Raph lying together motionless on the ground. Using all of his strength Don rolled Raph onto his back and placed his head in his lap. The left eyehole of Raph’s banana had been sewn shut hiding where he had lost an eye in some previous battle that Don had not been there for. His remaining eye gazed up unseeingly._

“No!” Don screamed. “No Raph! Raph please no! RAPH!”

With a jolt Don sat up straight in bed looking around the room wildly. Quickly he turned to the other side of the bed to reassure himself that his mate was still safe and alive. His heart nearly stopped when he saw that he was alone in bed but soon remembered that he had gone to bed alone in the first place.

Wasting no more time Don leapt out of bed and raced down the hallway to Raph’s room. He didn’t bother knocking politely on the door or even gently shaking Raph awake. Don all but jumped into the hammock in his haste to see Raph’s eyes filled with life and not staring endlessly without seeing.

Raph was pulled from his slumber the moment Don grabbed onto his shoulders and shook them. Not knowing what was going on, his first instinct was to incapacitate his assailant but the feel of leathery skin and a hard shell brought him back to reality.

“Donnie?” Raph asked still half asleep.

Don removed one of his hands long enough to turn on the lamp beside Raph’s hammock causing Raph to cry out slightly when the light hit his eyes. When he opened his eyes again it was to see the fear still clearly written on Don’s face.

“Don what’s wrong? What happened?” Raph asked alarmed as he sat up and reached for his sais. For Don to have run into his room as panicky as he was usually meant that something bad had happened.

Seeing the bright amber of Raph’s eyes helped to calm Don’s racing heart. With a hitch in his breath Don threw himself onto Raph’s plastron and wrapped his arms around his neck with no intention of letting go any time soon.

Deciding that they probably weren’t under attack if Don was behaving this way Raph put his sais down and instead wrapped his own arms around Don’s waist. Without knowing what had upset his mate so much Raph did what he could and moved over so that Don could join him on the hammock and waited for him to speak.

“It was a dream,” Don shuddered against Raph. “I was in that horrible future that I was sent to. You were dead and there was nothing I could do to save you.”

“Shh Donnie. Shh,” Raph comforted him. “I’m right here. You haven’t lost me and that future isn’t going to happen. I won’t let it. I ain’t never letting you disappear like that. If you did I would never stop looking for you.”

Don nodded against Raph’s shoulder. “Thank you Raphie. I needed to hear that. I know that isn’t going to happen but I still hate when I get those nightmares.”

“I know,” said Raph as he pulled Don closer to him. “Stay here for the rest of the night. I’ll make sure you don’t have any more nightmares.”

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere else,” Don sighed as he laid his head onto Raph’s chest so he could hear his heartbeat as Raph turned off the light.


	114. Against His Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 23rd - Lips

Raph was quite tired that morning as he entered the kitchen to get some breakfast. While he didn't mind comforting Don after having a nightmare, it didn't make for a restful full night of sleep. When Don stumbled into the kitchen behind him looking just as tired as he felt, Raph knew that he would make the same decision again in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

Never having been much of a morning person, Raph's brothers tended to leave him alone until he was ready to talk. That was unless you were Mikey and had a death wish that day. In order to ignore Mikey and keep himself from killing his youngest brother Raph instead focused on Don and watching what he was doing.

Over at the counter Don was spreading jelly onto the toast that he had just made while he drank some coffee to try and wake himself up. His coordination was still a little off though and he ended up spilling some of the jelly onto his fingers. Without giving it a second thought Don brought his fingers up to his lips and started licking the jelly off of them.

The sight of Don’s lips wrapped around his fingers one by one licking the jelly off of them sent a shot of heat straight through Raph’s body. Suddenly Raph was very much awake and unable to tear his eyes away from the sight in from of his.

He knew just how wonderful those lips could feel. He had explored them with his own often enough to know just how soft they were as well as how well they molded under his own.

Don had also used his own lips to explore Raph’s body multiple times. No matter how many times they had been together Don always seemed to manage to find new erogenous zones with a careful nip, kiss, or lick. There had even been the time the Raph had woken up to the feel of those luscious lips wrapped around his erection giving his the best wake up call ever.

Don certainly knew exactly how to use his lips to his advantage. Half the time he didn’t even know what he was doing that got Raph so hot and bothered. This was just one of those times.

Without warning Raph shoved himself away from the table and made his way over to where Don was standing about to lick his last finger clean. Don’s wrist was grabbed as he was raising his hand to his mouth and he could only stand there with his eyes opened wide as Raph brought his trapped hand to his own mouth.

Never losing eye contact with Don, Raph brought the finger to his own lips and slowly licked of the remaining jelly. The lust in Raph’s eyes and the feel of the tongue on his finger sent a shiver down Don’s spine and caused his knees to go weak.

Losing no more time Don threw himself at Raph and replaced his finger with his lips. Raph had no problem and just pulled Don closer to him. Out of everything that Raph loved about Don’s lips, the thing that Raph loved most was the way they felt moving against his own.


	115. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 24th - Hands

It was very early in the morning and Donnie knew that he should still be sleeping. He was spending the night in Raph’s room and was currently curled up in his mate’s arms in his hammock at the moment.

Don wasn’t quite sure what had woken him up but he wasn’t tired enough to fall back to sleep. Instead he decided to just enjoy the moment. There were some projects that he could be working on but he was warm and comfortable right where he was and had no intention of moving until he absolutely had to.

It sometimes amazed him that he and Raph had ended up together. They were opposites in so many ways. He was the brainy brother that liked to learn all the time. He would rather talk a problem out than fight if he could. Raph was the brawn in the family. Often called hotheaded, he liked to jump into fights with no plan of action.

There were also physical differences that made them stand out from each other. While they were both quite strong, Don’s build was more lean while Raph had the bulky muscles from lifting weights all of the time. Not that Don minded those muscles however. He loved to run his hands all over Raph’s body feeling those muscles flex.

There was a physical characteristic that they did have in common though. It was their hands. They both had a lot of scars on their hands. Many more than their other brothers.

For Don it was from all of the work that he did in his lab. From a young age he had always been taking things apart to see how they worked. When he got older he started trying to put stuff he found at the junkyard back together again and make them work. From burns to cuts to mild electric shocks, his hands had taken the brunt of the damage.

Raph on the other hand didn’t get most of his scars until they began their ninja training and going topside more. With his sais he could either throw them at an enemy, which would leave him without a weapon, or he would have to get up close to them before he could do any damage. Sais were made to block swords which put his hands very close to those sharp blades.

Scars may not have been desirable but it was just part of their lives. They were going to get hurt and some of the injuries would leave scars. Don did his best to make sure that wouldn’t happen but there was only so much that he could do.

Reaching his hand over, Don ran his fingers lightly over the scars on Raph’s hand. Each of their scars told a story. Something that they had done, places they had been, lives they had saved. Despite their different builds and the injuries they had received, both had strong hands. Raph from his weight lifting and Don from carrying around his duffle bag and the stuff he found at the dump.

Don glanced up at his mate’s face as he took a deep breath and sleepily opened his eyes. There was one more thing that their hands had in common. They both knew exactly where and how to touch each other to make the other go from tired to ready to play in under ten seconds.


	116. Bound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 25th - Leather

Their belts, elbow pads, and kneepads didn’t cover much of their bodies but they acted to them like clothes do to humans. They were made of leather and had softened after years of wear. They protected the turtles from the minor scrapes and cuts of practicing as ninjas. Raph was also finding out the hard way that they also made very good ties.

Raph had just been heading up to bed and had wanted to say goodnight to Don before going to his own room. When he opened the door to Don’s room and stepped inside none of the lights were on and all he could see was darkness. He never knew what hit him.

Slowly Raph started coming to. The last thing he remembered was stepping into Don’s room and the feeling of a pinch on his neck. Now as he resurfaced to consciousness he realized that he was laying down on what felt like a mattress. He couldn’t confirm that guess though because wherever he was, was still pitch black.

As Raph tried to sit up he realized that his hands were tied above his head with what felt like a leather belt. His legs were in a similar position at the two end bedposts. Before he had a chance to really test the strength of the knots that were holding him there he felt something lightly trail along the inside of his left thigh.

Jerking away as much as he could, Raph looked over to his left but there was still nothing that he could see. The chuckle that followed his bid for escape gave away Raph’s captor.

“What’s all this for Donnie-boy?” Raph tried to ask nonchalantly. “If you wanted me in your bed tonight all you had to do was say so. You didn’t have to tie me up.”

“Maybe I wanted you all nice and compliant,” Don said hoarsely as he dragged his belt down Raph’s plastron this time earning himself another jerking motion. “Do you have any idea how delicious you look right now tied to my bed?”

“How do you know how I look?” Raph asked as he tried to guess where the next touch would come from. “It’s so dark in here you can’t see your hand in front of your…”

Raph’s words were cut off as a warm mouth attached to his own, stopping him mid sentence.

“You forgot about my night vision goggles Raphie,” Don whispered. “I can see everything perfectly and you look good enough to eat.”

Raph swallowed hard at the way Don said that. He jumped again when he felt something touching his tail. Apparently Don had dropped down at some point and was now planning on having his way with the tied up Raphael.

“Whoa Don,” Raph exclaimed as he pulled away a bit. “Ain’t go gonna prep me first?”

“Don’t worry,” Don assured him as he slipped into the slick entrance. “I already took care of that while you were dazed from the nerve pinch.”

Raph groaned at the feeling of Don moving inside of him. Don didn’t often become aggressive like this and want to top. When he did though, it turned Raph on like nothing else. A hard jab against his prostate had Raph releasing his erection into Don’s waiting hands in moments. Not being able to see just heightened everything he was feeling.

The ride was hard and fast with both of them reaching their climaxes rapidly. With a few last thrusts Don pulled out of a panting Raph. Sitting up Don lit a candle on the bedside table and removed his goggles.

Reaching down, Don began untying Raph’s ankles. Once his legs were free he leaned over Raph’s body deliberately pressing against him as he released his arms. As soon as Raph was free he flipped them over so that he was now pinning Don down into the bed. Grabbing Don’s wrists, Raph pinned them to the bed on either side of Don’s head.

“Very nice trap Donnie-boy,” Raph purred. “But you made one mistake.”

Raph carefully slid their hands higher until they were at the headboard.

“You only untied my hands. You still left the leather tied to the bed.”

The smirk on Don’s face as Raph quickly secured his wrists said that he knew what he was getting himself into all along. After all, Raph wasn’t the only one that he had prepped.


	117. Sticker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 26th - Fun

Raph sauntered into the kitchen that morning feeling very smug. He was still a little sore from his and Don’s previous night’s activities. He couldn’t help but feel a small sense of smug satisfaction when he saw the hitch in Don’s step as he headed to the bathroom when they got up. He had been carefully not to actually hurt his mate but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to end up somewhat sore.

After Don had his fun with Raph, Raph had turned the tables and tied Don down onto the bed. As Raph had pounded into the turtle beneath him he had to agree with Don. The sight of Don tied up and squirming beneath him was so hot.

Raph didn't know if it was having tried something new last night or the good night of sleep he had gotten after he and Don finally settled down to sleep but he felt very light and happy that morning. Not typically having been a morning person, this was definitely a change in his demeanor.

He was even looking forward to practice as they walked into the dojo. Luckily for Raph, Leo seemed to be in a good mood today and had decided on a relatively easily practice that day.

Leo had come up with the idea for a game for them to play that would test their agility and ability to strategize. They were split up into pairs, Mikey and Leo versus Don and Raph.

One of the pair had a sticker put on his back. The goal was to get the other team’s sticker without losing their own. Together each team had to protect the one with the sticker and try to steal the sticker from the other team. They were allowed to go anywhere in the lair they wanted but the sewers were off limits.

Don and Mikey chose to have the stickers on their back. Mikey because he was the fastest and had a history of out running Raph and Don because he had the slimmest build and could get through spaces that Raph couldn’t.

As the game started Mikey began with his usual taunts to Raph while making sure to keep dancing just outside of his reach. Raph chased Mikey around trying to corner him to steal the sticker while still keeping an eye on Don to make sure he didn’t get cornered by Leo.

Don was having to put most of his focus in staying out of Leo’s reach considering how fast his brother was. He was trying his best to pin Don into a corner where he couldn’t escape but Don kept wiggling out of every trap, laughing as Leo became increasingly frustrated.

Taking a quick moment to glance around Don saw that Mikey was headed towards the small bridge that crossed the pond in the middle of the lair. Thinking quickly on his feet Don made his way in that direction with a more direct route.

Looking over Mikey’s shoulder, a vicious grin spread across Raph’s face as he saw what Don was planning. Carefully Raph made sure to keep Mikey, who was running backwards, on track towards the pond. Don saw Raph’s smirk and knew that Raph understood his plan.

As soon as the two groups were only a few feet apart Raph dove to the right and tackled Leo to the floor while Don tripped Mikey, who hadn’t noticed anyone coming up behind him, and threw both of them into the water.

When Leo rolled Raph off of him they both turned to look at the pond. When their mates came to the surface sputtering for breath they made their way to the edge. Mikey was quick to get out of the water and move so that he didn’t have his back to Raph. Don on the other hand treaded water laughing as he held up his hand, a sticker clenched in his fingers.

Raph laughed as he helped Don out of the water. “Looks like we won Fearless,” Raph bragged. “It was fun though. We should have more practices like this. Come on Don, let’s go get you dried off.”

Hand in hand they walked towards the bathroom to grab some towels, laughing about their victory while Mikey moaned about being cold, wet, and having lost his sticker.


	118. Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 27th - Silk

Practice was supposed to have started five minutes ago but there was one problem. Don wasn't there. He hadn't been at breakfast earlier but that wasn't completely unusual. There had been quite a few times that Don had gotten up early and worked through breakfast and up until the start of practice but he was usually good about being on time.

The flicking of Master Splinter's tail was the only outward indication that he was becoming annoyed at the delay. With only a slightly suffering sigh Splinter turned towards Raph.

"Will you please go and find your brother Raphael?" Master Splinter asked. "Let him know that he will have an extra practice with me today for being late. Do not take too long."

Raph stood up and bowed to his father before leaving the dojo. Since Don hadn't spent the night with Raph in his room there were two places for Raph to look for him, his own room or the lab. Raph decided to try looking in Don's room first hoping that he had gotten a good night's sleep in his own bed.

When he pushed open the door to Don's room however it was missing one olive green turtle. The lights were off and the bed looked like it hadn't been slept in the night before.

With a sigh Raph turned around and headed back downstairs. He knew that Don's work was important to him but he hated it when Don pulled all nighters like this. He always woke up sore from having slept bent over in a chair and this tended to make him cranky.

Raph opened the door slowly and leaned around the doorframe. Don was in there fast asleep with his head pillowed on the keyboard. His elbow pads and kneepads had been loosened and his mask was hanging over the back of the chair.  
Gently Raph shook Don's shoulder to wake him up without startling him. Taking a deep breath, Don blinked his eyes open and looked around as he sat up.

"Raph, what's going on?" Don asked sleepily.

"Practice started a few minutes ago," Raph answered. "You've slept through the beginning of it. Master Splinter asked me to come and get you."

That caught Don's attention. Quickly he began trying to tie his protective gear back on the way that it should be. While he was occupied doing that Raph grabbed his mask and tried to smooth out the wrinkles.

"I've been meaning to ask you Don, why does your mask feel so much different than the rest of ours?" questioned Raph.  
"Huh, it's made out of silk,” Don told him as he looked around trying to remember where he had put his bo. “I like the feel of the material. It’s softer and doesn’t chafe as much when it gets wet with sweat.”

“I never thought of that,” Raph said. “I guess that’s going to come in handy while you and Master Splinter are having your extra practice as punishment for being late.”

Don just groaned as he followed Raph out of the lab and towards the dojo. Maybe if he was lucky Raph might give him a massage afterwards to work out some of the kinks that he was sure he was going to get. They may not have been as soft as silk but Raph knew how to make his hands gentle when he wanted to.


	119. Soft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 28th - Sheets

It had been a busy day. Don had pulled another all nighter in his lab last night knowing that since it was Saturday there wouldn't be any practice until the evening. So far he had only come out for meals or to use the bathroom. His brothers weren't completely sure what he was working on but they knew from past experience that it was best to just leave him alone when he was like this.

While Raph may not have liked to see his mate working himself so hard but it did give him a chance to put his plan into action without getting caught. It was an idea that had been wiggling around in his head ever since Don had told him that he liked the feel of silk yesterday. He had made a call to April while Don was have his extra practice with Splinter and now he was about to head topside to go talk to her.

Don being coped up in his lab just made it easier for Raph to sneak out of the lair without capturing his attention. Raph had already let Leo know where he was going that way he wouldn't throw a fit when he noticed that Raph was gone. Since it was light out, Raph took the tunnel route to April's apartment so he could come up through the basement.

As Raph came up the stairs he looked around to make sure that there wasn't anyone that could see through the store windows and could spot him. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, Raph quickly snuck upstairs to the main part of the apartment. April was sitting at her kitchen table sipping some coffee and looking over the inventory for the store when he got there.

"Hey April," Raph said as he knocked lightly on the door so he wouldn't startle her.

"Oh hey Raph," April answered as she turned around to face him. "How are you doing?"

"Okay. Did you get a chance to go to the store for me?" asked Raph as he joined her at the table.

"I sure did," said April as she slid a plastic bag across the table towards Raph. "A present for Don I'm guessing?"

Raph nodded as he looked inside the bag. "Yeah I just thought it would be a nice thing to do," Raph said as he stood up and reached for his belt to pull out an envelope.

"Here, for going to the store" Raph said as he handed the envelope to April. Seeing April about to protest he continued, "One of the reasons for Don and I starting our business was so that we could pay you back for the stuff you do for us."

"Alright than," April agreed with a smile. "Say hi to everyone for me."

"I will," Raph told her, making his way back down to the basement carrying the bag with him.

~

The day had continued in a relatively calm manner and dinner had finished a few hours. Don had retreated to his lab as soon as he was done eating. Everyone else had gone to the living room to watch the evening news or in Mikey's case read comics while sitting as close to Leo as he could get.

Master Splinter had gone to bed when the local stuff had finished leaving Raph, Leo, and Mikey to watch the national news. When that was over Mikey nearly pulled Leo's arm out of its socket as he pulled them upstairs to his room. Raph made his way over to the lab, determined that Don wouldn't spend another night in there.

Raph's timing was perfect. Don's head was just starting to nod while he struggled to keep his eyes open and focused on the computer in front of him. Blindly he reached for the mug that was sitting on his desk. After a few failed attempts Don slowly turned his head to try and locate the mug that way.

"That's it," Raph said as he strode over to where Don was sitting. Grabbing the chair and spinning it around, he took Don by the arms and pulled him up. "Bedtime Donnie. No arguments. You aren't spending all night in your lab again."

"But Raphie," Don whined.

"No buts," Raph told him sternly.

Without letting go he steered Don upstairs and into his room. Once Raph had the door shut behind them he let go of Don long enough to pull the sheets back on the bed before pushing Don over.

It was a testament to how tired Don was that he didn't argue anymore and just crawled into bed leaving room beside him for Raph.

"These aren't my sheets," Don noticed sleepily.

Raph chuckled as he got into bed and pulled Don close to him. "I got new sheets for you today. You said that you liked the feel of silk because it was soft. These are 100% Egyptian cotton, 500 count thread sheets."

Don smiled at Raph's description. "I'm impressed that you know what all of that means," he teased. "They are very soft, thank you. You're not going to be able to get me out of bed in the morning now, you know."

"I don't think I have a problem with that at all."


	120. Something Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 29th - Dishes

It wasn't until almost noon that Raph and Don made their way downstairs in search of food. They had woken up a few hours ago but had decided that Don's new sheets needed christening. By the time they got to the kitchen they couldn't stop smiling, touching each other, and exchanging quick kisses.

Mikey was already in the kitchen working on making his own lunch. Neither Raph nor Don were quite sure what it was he was making but there were bowls and different food items scattered all over the counter space.

In an effort not to be in Mikey way, and to hopefully not get run over by him, Raph and Don moved over to the side to work on their lunch. Having missed breakfast earlier and gotten a little personal exercise in for the day they were both very hungry.

Hunting through the fridge they pulled out some leftovers from last night's dinner and out them into the microwave to reheat. They didn't bother putting the food into any different dishes since it was Raph's day to wash them and the fewer he had to deal with the happier he was.

While they waited for their food to heat up Don moved to sit up on the counter and Raph stepped forward to stand in between his legs. Leaning closer they let their lips meet and play along each other. Their hands dragged along any piece of skin that they could reach. The beeping of the microwave was their only signal to pull away from each other's lips.

Mikey did his best to ignore his two older brothers making out while he was trying to make his own lunch. "Didn't you get enough of each other this morning?" Mikey asked over his shoulder.

"Not nearly enough," Raph smirked as Don grabbed the food from the microwave and Raph pulled him from the room.  
When they went back into the kitchen half an hour later to put their dishes in the sink Mikey had already finished and headed out. What he left behind though caused both Raph and Don to stop and stare.

There were dishes everywhere. They were in the sink, on the counter, tipped over on the table; there was even one that was on the floor, presumably for Klunk to get a taste from. Knowing that Mikey had left the mess for Raph to clean up since that was his chore this week almost had Raph seeing red.

"When I find that nutball I'm gonna kill him," Raph muttered as he set about picking up all of the dishes and moving them over to the sink.

"How about we make this easier," Don said as he turned on the water and started filling the sink. "You wash and I'll dry and put away."

That caused Raph to pause for a moment and stare at Don. "You don’t have to do that Donnie," Raph told him. "You didn't make the mess and it is my turn to wash the dishes. You go do whatever and I meet up with you when I'm done."

"Or we could go with my plan and get done faster," Don insisted. "Besides, you did something nice for me yesterday with getting me those new sheets. I can do something nice for you today."

"Don, I did that because I wanted to see you happy. Not because I wanted you to think you owed me or something," Raph tried to convince him as he started scrubbing at the first dish.

Don grabbed the plate from Raph's hands once it had been rinsed off. "I'm not doing this because I owe you. I'm doing it because I want to do something nice for you too," persisted Don. "Now the faster we finish this, the faster we can go hunt down Mikey."

"Now that plan I like," smirked Raph.


	121. Not Fair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 30th - Life

The day itself had started out very well. Practice had gone smoothly and Master Splinter had even cut their mediation session short because they were all able to focus so well. For the most part they had each done their own things throughout the day but the interactions they did had were quite pleasant. This is why it was such a surprise when everything went downhill so suddenly that evening.

"I can go out for a run if I damn well please Leo," Raph yelled as he made his way towards the elevator with the intention of going topside.

"There are too many Foot patrols out tonight Raph," Leo shouted as he followed behind Raph. "They were on the news tonight for goodness sake. It's too dangerous. You need to stay inside tonight."

"Newsflash Leo," Raph turned to face him. "I'm a trained ninja just like you. I know how to avoid them so they don't spot me. And I can handle myself if I do run into any Foot."

Leo stepped closer to where Raph was standing. "Raph please. I can order you as a leader but right now I am asking you as a brother,” he nearly pleaded. “Please stay in tonight. The chance of you getting hurt if you go topside is too great so just stay here."

"Argh!" Raph yelled as he changed direction and stomped towards the dojo. "I hate this! I hate not being able to go topside just because of the Foot. Just because we aren't human we're stuck down here in the sewers! It isn’t fair."

Leo just stood there and let his brother go. He had gotten what he wanted and now Raph just needed some time to cool down a bit.

From his lab Don had also seen the exchange between his two older brothers. He knew how hard at times Raph could take their situation of being trapped below grounds. He wanted more than having to hide all the time. He wanted to be free. Don wished he could give it to him but unfortunately it just wasn't possible.

After waiting a few minutes to give Raph a chance to take out some of his frustration on his punching bag Don left his lab and headed over to the dojo. Raph was still inside working on his punching bag but it wasn't with the same amount of anger that he had when he first entered the dojo.

"How do you do it Donnie?" Raph asked after a minute as he continued his exercise. "How do you keep it from bothering you? How we have to live just because of what we are, it isn't fair."

“Because of something I read once,” Don answered as he leaned against the wall and watched Raph. “It was by Friedrich Nietzsche. He said that ‘he who has a why to live can bear almost any how.’ Basically as long as you have a reason to keep on living you will find a way to do it. You guys are my why. For my family and for you I can keep living.”

Raph stopped and caught the bag as it came swinging back to him. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he agreed. “Doesn’t make it easy though.”

“No it isn’t,” Don granted. “But as long as we have our reason to live, we’ll be able to muster through any how.”


	122. Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 1st - Death

Leo had been a little hesitant about going on patrol tonight. While the Foot had pulled back a bit since the previous night there were still more of them out there than Leo was completely comfortable with. Raph however was going stir crazy in the lair and Leo was afraid that if they didn't go topside as a team than Raph would go by himself and that was unacceptable.

They had taken the sewer tunnels for about a block before heading up to an abandoned alleyway. From there they used the fire escape to reach the rooftops.

"Remember, we stick together," Leo ordered. "No going off on your own and no jumping into fights without back-up. Is that understood?"

"Yes mommy," Raph said dryly as he took off towards the next roof.

Leo exchanged a glance with Don and Mikey before they began following after Raph. The night was clear with only a slight breeze making it less than perfect. There was enough cloud cover to give them plenty of shadows to hide in but enough light from the moon and streetlights to let them see easily.

Leo was content to let Raph choose the direction for their run. He needed to get out his excess energy and the direction they went in wasn't something that was worth a fight over. What did have Leo being more cautious was where he thought Raph would take them.

Their general direction was more towards a seedier part of town. Don was pretty sure that Raph was hoping for a fight against some muggers or other lowlife criminals. He planned on sticking close to his mate. Raph could sometimes get careless when he was this wound up and Don didn’t want to take any chances.

After about twenty minutes of running Raph got his wish for some crime to break up when they heard a woman scream. The scream was coming from a few streets over and the boys quickly changed their direction to match it. When they got to the roof on the edge of the alleyway they paused to take a look at what was going on.

Down on the ground level there were three Purple Dragon thugs harassing a woman. They had her backed into a corner and appeared to be trying to steal her purse. Based on the looks they were giving her and the comments they were making it didn’t seem like her purse was the only thing that they were after.

“We go in quickly and quietly,” Leo whispered. “Raph you take the guy on the right, Mikey that one on the left. I’ll get the one in the middle and Don you make sure the woman’s okay. Go.”

Without another word they jumped down behind the thugs. It should have been easy. There were only three Dragons and four turtles. They had done this numerous times but something went wrong now.

When Don tried to get to the woman to help her out of the alley she screamed again as soon as he got close thinking that he was another attacker. Don stumbled back in surprise and bumped into Raph, knocking them both to the ground.

This gave his mugger a chance to reach inside his jacket and pull out a gun. Raph saw it just as it was being pointed at him and Don. Raph grabbed Don by the shoulders and rolled them as fast as he could away from where the Dragon was standing.

BANG!

Thump

Thud

It was all over in an instant. Raph slowly lifted his head, looked around, and uncovered Don’s body. The gangster that had been holding the gun was now laying on the ground minus his head and the other two had run away.

Where Raph and Don had been seconds ago now lay the woman they had been trying to save. When Raph had moved him and Don out of the way the Purple Dragon had tried to follow them with the gun and ended up shooting the woman instead.

They were ninjas and had experienced death before but it never seemed to lessen the impact. Being too late to save an innocent victim always weighed heavily on them. Felling like they were the cause of her death made them feel even worse.

The sound of sirens shook them out of their stupor and they quickly headed back up to the rooftops. There was no discussion but it was understood that they were heading home. While they may be experienced in death it always hit hard and home with their loved ones, safe and sound, was where they wanted to be.


	123. Favorite Pastime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 2nd - Blush

There were a lot of things that Raph liked to do with and to Don. Helping his sort through the junk at the dump so he could be the first to see that smile spread across his face was nice. Sharing the kitchen with only Don in the morning because he was the only one that wouldn't bother him until he had woken up completely was a Godsend.

But making Don blush, especially in front of their brothers, had to one of Raph's favorite pastimes. Today he had decided to see just how many times he could get Donnie to blush.

During breakfast Raph waited until Don was watching before bending over to get something out of the bottom cabinet and flicking his tails up. Standing back up he turned around in time to see the pink tinge on Don's cheeks before he ducked his head down. With a smirk Raph walked over to the table, making sure to brush against Don's side as he took his seat.

The teasing continued into practice as well. Raph made sure to flex his muscles as best he could when they went through their katas. He also made a point of grunting and groaning during sparring. Every time he looked over at Don, his cheeks almost always had a dull shade of pink to them.

Don knew exactly what Raph was up to but he couldn't seem stop letting it get to him. The sight and sounds that Raph made could always get him hot and bothered no matter where they were. The fact that his brothers knew exactly what was going on made it all the more embarrassing but also more forbidden as well.

The teasing that was leading to his blushing was really starting to get to Don. Not only was his face heating up but certain other parts of his anatomy were as well.

Even meditation at the end of practice didn't do anything to help calm him down. Raph sat close enough to him that every time he moved, their knees brushed together sending a delightful shiver throughout Don's entire body.

As soon as Master Splinter dismissed them, Don was up and pulling Raph towards his room. The laughter from their other two brothers did nothing to dissuade Don from his course of action. The moment the bedroom door was closed Don’s mouth had attached itself to Raph’s with no intention of letting go any time soon.

When the need to breathe became too great he finally let up but moved to kissing any part of Raph that he could reach. While Don was doing that Raph lifted Don up so that his legs were wrapped around his waist and brought him over to the bed.

After all the teasing that had been done throughout the morning, the resulting romp was hard, fast, and more than a little dirty. The only downside was that they didn’t have enough energy to go more than one round of the practice they had just had.

As they lay together in Don’s bed, Don gently ran his hand over Raph’s shell feeling every bump and groove on it. Both enjoyed the afterglow but they also knew that there were things that they had to do that day. It was with much reluctance and quite a few kisses that they eventually pulled apart and got out of bed.

Don sat on the edge of his bed adjusting his belt as he watched Raph make his way to the door and head out to the main area of the lair. Raph may have loved making Don blush but he wasn’t the only one that enjoyed that pastime.

Quickly Don finished up and hurried after his mate. He didn’t want to miss the look on his brothers’ faces or the resulting blush on Raph’s when they saw the sign that Don had sneakily taped onto the back of Raph’s shell. After all, an arrow point down to Raph’s tail saying Property of Donatello was sure to get a reaction.


	124. His Rock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 3rd - Breathing

It was late and everyone had gone to bed already. Raph had ended up in Don's bed with him that night. Don though was too tired to do more than just curl up against Raph's side and fall straight to sleep. He had been busy all day doing minor repair work throughout the lair and making a quick run to the junkyard as soon as it was dark enough.

Raph was having a not untypical bout of insomnia tonight and was content to just hold Don and listen to him breathe. Don was sighing in his sleep, breathing deep and even. Unlike Raph, Don didn’t snore unless he was absolutely, drop dead, exhausted. While he was definitely tired, he wasn’t at that point tonight and was just making the cute sighing sounds.

There was something very calming about Don's breathing. It was almost always calm and steady. The only times it really deviated from its normal pace was if they had just been sparring or out for a run. Even then it was still steady despite being at an increased pace.

Sometimes during meditation it helped Raph to clear his mind. Focusing on a candle did nothing for his concentration and just trying to empty his mind was very difficult. Raph may not have been like Mikey, always bouncing around doing things, but Raph was always thinking something. Listening to Don’s steady breathing always did the trick.

Don's breathing was just like him. He was a very calm and steady person and it reflected his personality perfectly. Raph loved that about him. He was the rock that Raph could always count on being there. He was steady when Raph was chaotic. Don helped hold his head above water when he felt like he was about to drown in the sea of his anger. Raph would be lost without him.

Raph smiled a little went Don gave out a small snort as he shifted closer into Raph's warm arms. Don had confessed once that he loved to listen to the sound of Raph's snoring as he fell to sleep. Something about it sounding very soothing to him. Raph knew exactly what he meant.

Don may have been the one sent to that horrible future but he wasn't the only one affected by it. Raph would sometimes wake up at night afraid that Don had been taken from him. It would set him into a near panic until he could find Don and make sure that he was safe.

It was even worse when Don wasn't in the room. He couldn't relax again until he had found wherever Don was and seen with his own two eyes that he was indeed breathing and not lost to him. Only then could he relax again.

Right now, with Don in his arms, knowing that he was safe as long as he was there, Raph couldn’t help but relax and feel comforted. There was nowhere else that he would rather be right there in that moment. Forget Disney World, this was the happiest place on Earth.


	125. Worth His While

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 4th - Day

Practice had just ended a few minutes ago but Raph and Leo remained in the dojo. Both were still jacked up from practice and needed a way to burn off the excess energy that they had. They had decided that a friendly spar was the best way to do just that.

Their movements were almost like a dance as they came at each other, clashed, and moved away. Neither was gaining the upper hand and both were enjoying the challenge.

Eventually Raph managed to catch Leo's katanas with his sais and prevent him from moving away. Leo, refusing to give Raph an advantage, used his inch of extra height to press down against Raph so that he couldn't pull his sais away from the hold.

Raph growled when he couldn't pull his weapons free. Staining his muscles he tried to get out of Leo's trap but the leverage against him was too much.

While Raph was busy trying to unlock their weapons his feet had slipped somewhat. Leo was not above using that to his advantage. Quickly shifting his own balance so he could stand on one foot, Leo used his now free leg to hook it around Raph's knee and knock him to the ground.

Landing on top of his brother Leo held one of his swords to his throat. "Give up yet Raph?" Leo asked with a smirk.  
After struggling for a moment Raph finally relaxed and laid still. "Fine Leo," Raph sighed with a begrudging smile. "You win. I give."

Leo stood up and often a hand down to Raph which he accepted. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Leo questioned as he walked over to a bench and grabbed a towel to wipe away the sweat on his brow.

"I'm thinking of spending the day with Donnie," said Raph as he picked up his own towel. "He's been cooped up in his lab for the past few days. He really needs to get out and do something fun."

With that Raph threw his towel into the basket and headed over to Don's lab. There was no question in his mind that that's where Don would be. He had been in there for the past few days, only coming out to eat, go to the bathroom, fix something in the lair, or sleep when Raph forcibly hauled him out.

Don was over at his desk looking at something under a microscope when Raph got there. Raph made sure to make enough noise when he walked in before going over to where Don was sitting that way he wouldn't startle him.

"What are you working on there Donnie-boy?" Raph asked.

"I'm still trying to figure out a way to use the Foot Tech-ninja's technology for invisibility for ourselves," Don replied without looking up. "It's slow going and I haven't made that much progress. I just can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong."

"You're still having trouble with that?" said Raph. "You've been working on it for like a month and a half now haven't you?"

Don sighed as he sat back so he could face Raph directly. "Yes I have," he agreed. "But Rome wasn't built in a day and this won't get done that fast either."

Raph shook his head in mild exasperation before grabbing onto Don and pulling him out of his chair. "Well sitting here, running around in circles certainly isn't going to get you anywhere," Raph told him as he marched them out of the lab and towards the exit to the sewers. "We're going to do something fun today. Then tomorrow you can go back with a fresh perspective."

"But Raph," Don said trying to pull out of his mate's hold. "That means a whole day wasted."

"You think spending a day with me is wasted?" Raph asked feigning hurt.

"No! That's not what I meant at all," Don protested.

"Then you won't mind parking your cute little butt in the Sewer Slider and going for a ride with me now would you?" said Raph leaving no room for argument.

Don opened his mouth to try arguing again but saw that it would be pointless. "Fine, but you so better make it worth my while," Don said as he climbed in as regally as he could manage.

"Oh don't worry Donnie-boy," Raph said deeply. "I plan on it."


	126. Quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 5th - Night

It was late. Master Splinter had gone to bed shortly after dinner and the boys had gone to the living room to hang out. Instead of watching movies they had decided to have a small competition as to who could get the highest points in one of Mikey's video games while losing the least amount of lives.

Mikey of course did the best, having played them the most often. Despite Mikey having coached him, Leo did the worst. Even though they had been going out for a while and Leo had been spending more time with him watching him play his games, he hadn't participated very often.

Raph and Don finished close to one another in their scores. Raph was the one after Mikey most likely to play with the video games so he did have some practice with them.

Don spent a lot of time on his computer and as such was quick when it came to computer graphics. The cheat codes that he had learned did exactly hurt.

Once the game was done both Leo and Mikey headed off to bed. It had been a long day and they were tired. Don and Raph weren't tired enough to go to bed quite yet. They were both night owls by nature and were used to staying up later into the night than the rest of the family.

Once Leo and Mikey were gone and Raph and Don were on their own, they decided to go their own separate ways for the moment. Raph stood up and with a kiss to Don's temple, headed for the dojo to work on his punching bag and maybe lift a few weights before he was ready to go to bed.

Don made his way to his lab. He planned on going over the security cameras to make sure that they were in top working order. Mikey had also cracked his shell cell while skateboarding in the sewers and Don wanted to fix it before he would need it again.

Don and Raph were very similar in this respect. They both enjoyed the late night hours. Those hours were quiet and made it easy to concentrate. There were no oldest or youngest brothers running around being distracting.

Don knew that he got some of his best ideas at night when there was nothing else to distract his mind from his work.  
From his lab he could hear the steady rhythm of Raph's fists fighting against his bag. It let him know that he wasn't the only still up. It gave him some company in an otherwise silent lair.

In the dojo, if he listening carefully, Raph could almost hear the tapping of computer keys and the shuffling through drawers. Don's movements were always quite smooth and precise. Raph closed his eyes while he worked and imaged his mate's nimble hands moving along.

Glancing out the door Raph looked at the clock on the tv monolith. It was late and he was beginning to feel fatigued. Catching the punching bag on its return swing he stopped its movements. Turning out the lights to the dojo Raph headed over to the lab to try and convince Don to come up to bed with him.

"Come on genius," Raph told Don as he entered the room. "Bedtime."

"I was just waiting for you," Don yawned.

Closing out of the security program and putting his tools away he stood up and stretched. Taking Raph's hand in his own they both made their way upstairs. While they both liked staying up late at night, they both also enjoyed sleeping in each other's arms too.


	127. Bored

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 6th - Glory

Boooooored. Raph was bored. He was a fully trained ninja with the whole sewers at his disposal, a shell cycle that could take him anywhere in the city, a mate with whom the sex was hot, and there was still nothing for him to do.

He didn’t feel like taking a run through the sewers. It was too light outside for him to be riding his shell cycle yet. Don was busy in his lab. Raph had looked through the entire extensive array of cable channels that they got and there was nothing on that he was even remotely interested in. He had even spent the last few hours playing each of Mikey’s video games until he got bored with those to.

He was currently laying down on the couch in the living room. His feet were hocked over the back while his carapace was resting on the seat cushions. Raph’s head was hanging off the edge of the couch and he was staring up at the ceiling with hooded eyes.

It wasn't like there wasn't anything for him to do, Raph just didn't really have any motivation to go and do anything. It seemed like everything worth doing had already been done. Raph wanted to do something new.

With ninja like grace Raph back flipped off the couch from his current position landing easily on his feet. Making a decision, he headed towards Don’s lab. While Don may have been busy on a project he usually didn’t mind having Raph hang out in there with him as long as he was quiet.

The way Raph figured it, he could talk to Don without being in his way and maybe help putting something together for their online business. They had made a trip to the junkyard two days ago while he and Don had been out taking a ride on the Sewer Slider and so they had quite a few extra parts at their disposal, ready and waiting in the lab.

As Raph walked into the lab he nodded to Don who was on the phone at the moment. Raph glanced at the computer screen and noticed a customer profile had been pulled up. Don's tone of voice was very calm so Raph put it out of his mind.

Wandering over to the bookshelf Raph started pawing through the different simple electronics that where there. He was slowly learning how to repair simple things but he was nowhere near the level that Don was.

When they hunted together through the junkyard they always made an effort to find the nicer things that people would pay more money for that only Don had the skill to fix.

They also made sure to find smaller items that Raph could still work on even if they didn't bring in the revenue that the big ticket items did.

On the bookshelf were also a lot of books that Don loved to reread any time he got the chance. Raph had borrowed a few of them since Don had given him the Lord of the Rings trilogy to read.

Some of them he had liked better than others but the rest weren't too bad. There were still some that didn't interest him in the least. Raph still couldn't quite understand how Don could find any enjoyment in the thicker books like the Odyssey.

“Hey Raph,” Don said when he got off the phone. “Can I help you with something? You’ve been staring at the book for a few minutes now.”

“I was just wondering how you could read some of these,” Raph said turning to face him. “Some of them look kind of boring.”

Don stood up and walked over to the bookshelf and ran his hand over some of the spines. “I like to know about different people and different cultures,” answered Don. “Samuel Johnson once said that ‘the chief glory of every people arises from its authors’. Every author, every person, that puts pen to paper says a little bit about where they come from whether they know it or not and I want to learn all about it.”

Raph smiled and shook his head in amusement. “One day that big brain of yours is going to explode from all of your reading.”

“Well than I guess I better teach you how to put it back together again,” Don laughed as he picked up his toolbox so he and Raph could do some work together for their business.


	128. Celebrity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 7th - Fame

Raph grunted as he shoved some of his weights to the side in his room. Normally he didn't mind his room being a little messy but it had proven to be a bit too cumbersome last night.

Last night he and Don had gone to his room to enjoy each other's company. Raph had picked Don up so that he could wrap his legs around Raph's waist to carry him into the room. This meant that Raph hadn't seen the weight that was sitting in the middle of his floor. His foot found it however.

The least of his problems in the end was the stubbed toe. The bigger problem was when he tripped trying to catch his balance. He didn't manage it and ended up falling on top of Don. They both got the breath knocked out of them from the fall. After that point neither of them were in the mood to do anything anymore.

Raph was determined that another night wouldn't end up like last night did. Once he had the weight rack that Don had made for him upright and out of the way Raph began putting all of his free weights on it. After that was done he picked up all of the disguises, extra masks, and training gear off of the floor.

Going over to his small closet he opened the door and started hanging up the clothes and putting the other things on their respective shelves. Glancing down at the floor he looked at the truck sitting there. Kneeling down Raph lifting the lid and looked at what was inside.

Reaching in he carefully pulled out a dark helmet with two lights attached to the top. It was the helmet, and the rest of the gear, that he had worn during his time as the Nightwatcher. Reaching back into the trunk he picked up a book that was resting near the top.

Hearing a soft knock on the door Raph turned to see Don standing there. "Hey Raph," Don said quietly. "What are up to?"

"Just taking a trip down memory lane," Raph said holding up the book and helmet for Don to see. "I was cleaning the room so what happened last night won't happen again and felt nostalgic when I saw the trunk."

Don smiled as he sat down next to Raph and took the book from his hands. Flipping it open he looked through the different newspaper clippings and magazine article cutouts.

"You were the most famous vigilante this city has ever had," Don said with a grin.

"I still can't believe you made this scrapbook for me," Raph replied.

"Mikey wasn't the Nightwatcher's only fan," smirked Don. "I wanted to have a souvenir of the great things my big brother was doing and how much the city was paying attention to him."

Raph scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Don's shoulders. "You knew the whole time," he commented with a ruefully shake of his head. "Nothing gets by you does it genius?"

"It helps that I have cameras set up all throughout the sewers and in the garage," Don quipped.

"Tease," Raph nudged him. "You should feel lucky to be in a relationship with such a famous celebrity."

Don leaned in until his lips were just inches away from Raph's. "If I say I am, can I be invited to have a private party with the guest of honor?"

"Always," whispered Raph before claiming Don's lips with his own.


	129. Skills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 8th - Failure

Raph wasn’t in a great mood. Leo had kicked his ass in practice today and Raph had seen his smug smile before he had a chance to hide it. The thing that made it worse was that Raph knew he had messed up. He had left himself open to those attacks. It didn’t make the failures of defeat easier to take though.

He had gone to hang out with Don in his lab afterwards but Don had a headache and just wanted the peace and quiet of his lab for a few hours. Raph was a little disappointed but understood his mate’s reasoning.

Deciding that maybe some mindless tv would help to clear his head, he made his way into the living room. Unfortunately Mikey had already claimed the tv and was busy playing the new Diablo Beta that had come out a while ago.

Don had just managed to get a beta for him and he would need to be pried away kicking and screaming if someone else wanted the tv right now. With nothing else better to do Raph sat down next to Mikey and just watched him play his game.

Mikey had been playing his games for a few hours when the tv began to pixilated every now and again. It wasn’t long before the whole screen had frozen up and then went black. Mikey began pounding the buttons furiously in hopes that it might somehow restore his game.

“No!” he cried out when it became obvious that his game wasn’t coming back. Turning towards Raph he gave him the saddest puppy-dog eyes that he could manage. “Will you get Don to fix it for me? Pleeeease.”

Raph was all ready to tell him no just because he wasn’t in a good mood himself but he could never resist Mikey’s patented puppy-dog eyes look.

“Fine,” Raph grumbled as he stood up and headed to the lab.

Inside the lab he saw Don resting his head in his hands while he rubbed at the side of his temples. Deciding that Don deserved not to be troubled if his headache was still bothering him, Raph went over and grabbed the toolbox himself. After all, how hard could it be to fix the tv.

A few minutes of trying to reconnect wires to restore a picture showed just how difficult it was. He hadn’t made any progress and was just becoming more frustrated with his repeated failed attempts. Raph was just about to try fixing it with his sais when a pair was olive green hands slipped past him, replaced a few wires, and put the backing back on the tv.

“Try it now Mikey,” Don said.

The yell of excitement made it clear that the tv was now repaired and Mikey could continue on with his gaming.

“Why didn’t you come and get me?” Don asked as he and Raph picked up the tools and headed back to the lab.

“I was going to but when I walked in you looked like you still had a headache and I didn’t want to bother you,” Raph explained. “Look how well that turned out.”

Don raised an eyebrow at Raph’s depreciating remarks. “It was your first time trying to fix the tv and it isn’t easy. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” Don told him.

“I just feel like a failure when I see you fixing everything around here and I can’t even manage to connect a few wires to get the tv working again,” Raph growled.

Don took Raph’s hands in his own. “There is absolutely no need for you to feel that way,” Don reassured him. “I didn’t learn all of this overnight. I messed up on a lot of things before I finally managed to figure out how to fix all of the things that I can. And repairing the tv was more than connecting a few wires too.”

Raph sighed loudly at Don’s comment. He wasn’t completely ready to let go of his irritation at having messed up but he did recognized that Donnie did have a valid point.

“Why don’t we go to my lab for a little while,” Don said with a wink. “There’s a cot in the back and my headache is completely gone.”

The smile that crossed Raph’s face was exactly what Don was looking for. Raph just needed to be reminded every now and again of the things that he was good at. Very good at actually.


	130. Sore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 9th - Bus

The morning started out so unassuming. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Pleasantries were exchanged but nothing that would rile anyone up. It wasn't until they left the kitchen and headed to the dojo for practice that anything appeared odd or out of place.

Standing outside the door to the dojo was Master Splinter resting on his walking stick waiting for them. The doors were closed and their sensei gave no indication as to what they would be doing. Exchanging nervous glances between them, the four moved together and knelt in front of their father.

Master Splinter took a moment to look over his sons before starting to speak. “Today’s lesson will be dealing with the unknown,” he began.

“One at a time you will enter the dojo when I call you and will face off against me. Your lesson is only complete once I say it is. Once you have completed your own lesson you are free to go. While you are waiting for you turn you will wait quietly on the couch. Any question?”

The four of them shook their heads in the negative. “Very well. Donatello, you will go first. The rest of you may go wait on the couch.”

The three remaining brothers walked over to the couch while Donnie followed Master Splinter into the dojo. The door was shut firmly behind them with the expectation that they would not try and eavesdrop. Even without listening at the door they were able to hear the sound of Don’s bo making loud banging noises every now and again.

They waited about an agonizing fifteen minutes in silence when the doors to the dojo opened again. After a moment Don came out nearly limping.

“Can I get the number of that bus that ran me over?” Don groaned as he made his way over to where his brothers were sitting and flopped down onto the chair.

Raph chuckled at Don’s complaint. “It was just Master Splinter, Don. We’ve all sparred against him before. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Raphael, you are next,” Master Splinter’s voice came from the dojo.

“Tell me how you feel when you finally escape,” Don moaned at his as Raph stood up and made his way to the dojo for his own practice.

Once the doors had closed behind him Leo and Mike had both turned to Don, prepared to ask what had happened. Before they could ask Don held up his hand to stop them.

“Practice is supposed to be a surprise. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen. Master’s orders,” Don explained. Groaning again he stood up sheathing his bo on his back. “When Raph gets out tell him I went upstairs to take a shower.”

Twenty minutes later the doors opened again and Raph emerged looking just as worn out as Don had. “Don wasn’t kidding about that bus. I feel like it backed over me just to make sure it got a good hit,” Raph complained. “Mikey you’re up next.”

“Don asked us to tell you he went up stairs to take a shower,” Leo said as his mate went to the dojo like he was about to meet his doom. “I got the feeling like you were welcome to join him if you wanted.”

“Just for a shower,” Raph agreed. “I’m too tired for anything else. Sensei sure does pack a punch when he wants to.”

Raph slowly started climbing the stairs. A nice hot shower did sound good. And then maybe laying down for a few hours. It felt like it was going to take that long to recover from practice. He hoped Don wasn’t interested in anything more. Then again, if his practice had been anything like Raph’s he might have fallen asleep in the shower waiting for him.


	131. Pets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 10th - Watch

His pets were strange creatures. For some strange reason they chose to walk around on only two of their legs instead of all four like him. Four of his pets wore strange strings around their heads that they didn’t like him playing with and only one of they even had any fur.

At the moment Klunk was perched on top of the tv monolith surveying his home. It was the perfect spot to watch everything that happened. Right now his favorite pet with the bright orange string that he liked to play with was currently in the food room. Normally he would have followed him in there but the pet with the sharp, shiny things on his back was with him.

Klunk had smelled the scent coming off of them earlier. He had learned over the past few months that when they smelled like that than they didn’t want to be bothered. He couldn’t remember how many times he had been kicked out of the room he graciously allowed his favorite pet to share when they smelled different.

It wasn’t his fault that they made so much noise that he had to investigate. There was one time that he made the pet with the blue string shriek. He had been on top of his favorite pet. Only he was allowed to crawl around on top of his pet so he had jumped on top of blue pet.

While Klunk was thinking about the injustice of being thrown out of his own room, his expression turned to that of a glare when he saw the loud pet walk into the room and sit down on the couch.

He was the start of all of this trouble. It was his scent that had changed first when he was near the quiet pet. Klunk wasn’t sure what had happened but suddenly the loud pet and the quiet pet were spending more time together and the scent of the other would linger on them for hours.

Strange noises would come out of their rooms at night too but he could never get close enough to watch what was going on. That was too bad because he loved annoying the loud pet. He always yelled so funny when Klunk danced under his feet and he tripped. Getting to jump on top of him while he was making the strange noises at night and making him shriek would be so much fun.

As Klunk was trying to think of a way to turn his plan of making the loud pet screech, the quiet pet came out of the room with lots of beeping and shiny things. Klunk watched as the quiet pet sat on the loud pet’s lap instead of next to him like the other pets did.

Klunk did know how he felt about this closeness between the quiet and the loud pets. He didn’t like the fact that his favorite pet had followed their example and now spent more time with the blue stringed pet. This meant that he was no longer at Klunk’s beck and call.

On the other hand Klunk did like the quiet pet. He had the room with the beeping and shiny things. He also had the best treats hidden in the room. Klunk did want the quiet pet to be happy so for now he would just watch.


	132. Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 11th - Tie

Raph and Don were sitting together on the couch only paying a little attention to the movie that was on the tv. It had been Mikey that chose the movie so they weren’t completely invested in watching it. They were really only sitting there because all four of them had been getting along so well that day that none of them wanted it to end.

The moment was interrupted however when Raph’s shell cell began to ring. Reaching over onto the table to pick it up, Raph turned it around so he could look at the caller I.D. Casey’s name flashed across the screen as the phone continued to ring.

Flipping the phone open Raph held it up to his ear. “Hey bonehead. What’s up?”

_“Hey Raph I need to ask you for a favor.”_

“What do you need? You don’t sound like you’re going out to bust heads so what’s up?” Raph asked.

_“It’s a surprise. I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. Could you just come over to my apartment ASAP?”_

Raph raised an eyebrow at Casey’s tome of voice. “I was kind of hanging out with Don right now. Is everything okay?”

_“Yeah I’m just trying to surprise April and everything’s getting messed up. I just need your help over here as soon as you can. Don can come too if he wants.”_

Raph covered the mouthpiece of the phone and turned to Don. “Casey’s trying to set something up for April and wants my help. You want to come too?” Raph asked him.

When Don nodded his head yes Raph took his hand off the phone so he could talk again. “Sure. We’ll be over there in a few minutes.”

_“Thank a bunch Raph. You’re a lifesaver.”_

Raph closed the phone and stood up. Don had already walked over to the elevator and was waiting for him. “I figured we could just take your shell cycle,” Don said smiling at the reaction his words drew from his mate. “It’s fast and it’s dark enough out that no one will see us.”

Ten minutes later they were pulling up outside of Casey’s apartment. Taking a quick look around to make sure that no one was watching they quickly scaled the fire escape and knocked on his window. The glass was slid open quickly as they were let inside.

“Thanks for coming guys. I really appreciate it,” Casey said once they had gotten in.

Once they were inside the apartment Raph and Don noticed just how clean everything looked. Also surprising was seeing Casey dressed up in a pair of nice pants, a dress shirt, and a tie hanging loosely around his neck.

“Whoo, you clean up nice Casey. What’s the occasion?” Don asked as he stepped farther in the room.

“April’s been kind of stressed with work lately and I wanted to do something nice for her,” Casey explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “Only problem is I have no idea how to set things up so they look nice in here. Raph borrowed my apartment once for a date with you so I was hoping he could lend a hand.”

Raph smirked at his human friend coming to him for help in a relationship, even if it was just setting up his apartment. With the three of the working the place was set up nicely in only a few minutes.

All of Casey’s furniture was pushed back against the walls except a table and two chairs that were put in the middle of the room and any other bits of trash were picked up and thrown out. The table was covered in a table cloth and a candle was placed in the center.

“There, everything looks great,” Raph announced dusting off his hands.

“Thanks,” Casey told them appreciatively as he began to tie the tie around his neck. “April should be coming over in a few minutes so I really appreciate your help.”

“Not a problem Casey. That’s what friends are for,” Don told him.

After a moment of watching Casey struggle nervously with the tie Don batted his hands away and quickly did it himself. “A benefit of being a ninja. We know how to tie a variety of knots.”

“I’ll remember that,” said Casey as Raph and Don headed out the window leaving their friend to his date.


	133. Close Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 12th - Near

It was late and all Raph wanted to do was sleep. It had been a long day and he was tired. Practice had been a long and hard one that day with all of them walking away from it with sore muscles and panting for breath. Even Leo was no exception.

They had barely had any down time when Don realized that he needed some new parts from the junkyard for some things he was working on for their online business. Raph, wanting to stay near Don, had offered to go out with him.

It should have been an easy grab what they needed and go trip. The night had other plans however. Finding the parts that Don was looking for was the easy part. He had been dumpster diving for so long that he knew right where to look. Evading the guards that patrolled the junkyard and the dogs they had with them was another story entirely.

They had just been about to turn around and head home with their finds when they heard voices coming closer to where they were standing. There weren’t many hiding spots so they fell back as deep into the shadows as they could go.

The thing that worried them the most wasn’t just the humans that they could hear. There was also a jingling sound that indicated that the guards had at least one dog with them. If the dog got close enough there was no place that they could hide without being detected. Even if the dog couldn’t see them, it would still be able to smell them.

Raph subtly placed himself between Don and where the voices were coming from and drew his sais. If someone thought that they were getting near Don while he was there than they could think again. In the end they needn’t have worried. They guards went down a different row of junk and they were able to make their way safely out of the dump and back into the sewers without being seen.

Now that they were back in the lair safe and sound, Raph had wished his mate a good night and gone to his room to get some much needed sleep. That had been an hour ago and he had barely been able to doze in that time. He was still wound up from the scare at the junkyard.

With a small groan Raph twisted around and dropped lightly out of his hammock. Moving quietly through the hallway he made his way quickly to Don’s room. Don had been just as tired as him so Raph knew that he would be in bed and not down in his lab.

Opening the door Raph stepped inside where he could see Don curled up asleep in his bed. Shutting the door behind him, Raph walked over until he was next to the bed. Looking down at his mate he couldn’t help but notice how peaceful Don’s looked in his sleep. Gently he pulled and covers back and eased himself onto the mattress next to Don, rousing him slightly.

“What’s the matter Raphie?” Don asked sleepily.

Raph wrapped an arm around Don’s waist and pulled him in close to his plastron. “Had a hard time sleeping,” he answered. “I just need you near me right now.”

“Okay,” Don sighed as he tucked his head under Raph’s chin and fell back to sleep.

Raph nuzzled his cheek against the top of Don’s head and closed his eyes. This was exactly where he needed to be right now was Raph’s last thought as he joined Don in slumber.


	134. Good Neighbors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 13th - Fence

Don woke up slowly. His first realization was that he was extremely warm and comfortable. Cracking his eyes open he saw the strong plastron and emerald skin of his mate. He remembered last night when Raph had crawled into bed with him.

Raph had still been a little shaken up about what happened at the junkyard and had wanted to be sure that Don was safe. Truth be told, Don himself had felt very comforted having Raph there by his side. He knew that he was always safe when Raph was with him.

Tipping his head back he was able to look at Raph’s still sleeping face. It still amazed Don at times just how peaceful Raph looked when he was asleep. He knew the fierce protector that his mate was and the incredible warrior that he became in battle. Don felt so honored that he got to see the other side of the fence where Raph let down his guard and was completely relaxed.

Don may have been the one to most often wake up first of the pair but Raph usually wasn’t far behind. While Raph was still asleep Don took the opportunity to study Raph’s features that had already been committed to memory. The wide face, gentle sloping nose, full lips, and faint scar above Raph’s right eye. These were all things that Don could picture clearly in his head without looking but still loved to examine every chance he got.

It was only a few minutes later that Raph’s breathing picked up from the nice, even pace that it had while he was asleep. Blearily he opened his eyes and looked down to see Don watching him with a small smile dancing across his lips.

“Morning,” Raph said quietly.

“Good morning,” Don replied. “Did you sleep well?”

Raph smiled and drew Don closer to him and nuzzled his cheek. “I always sleep well when I’m with you.”

Don’s smile widened as he put his own arm around Raph and tucked himself farther into his embrace. For a while they both just laid there in silence enjoying each other’s company. It was a Sunday so there was no practice to worry about. They were free to do as they pleased, including laying in bed all day if they really wanted to.

Their quiet enjoyment of each other was cut short when they heard a thump against the wall next to the headboard. Sitting up a bit they turned to stare at the wall as though that would give them all the answers that they sought.

It wasn’t until they heard a low moan and the loud gasping of Leo’s name in Mikey’s voice that they realized what the sound was. Apparently Leo and Mikey had woken up a little early and decided to have their own private practice. Unfortunately for Raph and Don they weren’t exactly being quiet about it and the walls didn’t block out much of the noise.

Not wanting to hear what was going on in the next room, Don and Raph both got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to start on breakfast. While Don started the coffee maker, Raph grabbed a pan and a bowl so he could make some scrambled eggs.

“Well I know what my next project will be,” Don said dryly catching Raph’s attention. “I’ll need your help at the dump getting supplies to make our rooms’ sound proof. After all, you know what they say. Good fences make good neighbors.”


	135. Job Done Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 14th - Lamp

Raph knew that Don was serious about soundproofing his room after what they had heard yesterday morning. What he didn’t know was that he planned on starting the work today. This meant that Raph had somehow gotten roped into helping Don move the stuff from his room out into the hallway. Don needed the space to move around so that he could install the new sheeting onto the walls to block out the noise.

Having most of his belongings in the hallway was a bit of an inconvenience to both Leo and Mikey. It made it difficult for them to move between rooms and to get to the staircase easily. When Don explained to them exactly why he felt the need to suddenly soundproof his room, Leo and Mikey backed down quickly with matching blushes.

It was hard work but slowly things were getting done. Don was in charge of what things got moved and where they got moved to. Raph was pretty much acting as the muscle. He was lifting the heavier pieces of furniture out of the room and placing them where Don had directed him.

With a grunt Raph went to pick up the table that sat next to Don’s bed without emptying the table or taking the things off the top of it. The table wasn’t very heavy even with the knickknacks still inside so he figured there wouldn’t be any problem. Don on the other hand disagreed.

“Raph what are you doing!” Don cried out racing over to where Raph was. “At least take the lamp off the table before you try carrying it outside. I don’t want it to break.”

Snatching the lamp off the table he carried it out into the hallway where it would be safe.

“Why do you care so much if that lamp breaks?” Raph asked as he followed Don carrying the table. “It’s just about the ugliest one I’ve ever seen. Who’s ever heard of a lamp shaped like Einstein? I’m betting we could find a better looking one within two minutes of dumpster diving.”

“I like my Einstein lamp,” Don protested stubbornly. “There is no way that I’m replacing it and if you break it you’ll be sleeping alone in your own room for a month.”

Raph’s head whipped around sharply to face Don. He stared at him for a minute trying to figure out if his mate was serious or not. The only conclusion that Raph could come to was that he really didn’t want to push his luck and find out.

“So the rest of the stuff can be pushed into the center of the room for you to work around?” Raph asked as he walked back in and surveyed the nearly empty room.

“Probably,” Don agreed. “If we start the work now, the new walling should be dry enough by tonight that we could move everything back to where it was.”

Raph smirked as he walked up behind Don and put his arms around his waist. “I like the sound of that,” Raph all but purred. “When we’re done with that we should test out just how soundproof the walls are. After all, we need to know if the job was done right.”


	136. Great Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 15th - Emblem

With Don’s room soundproofed yesterday there were no more big projects that he needed to work on around the lair. This meant that he had more time to do as he pleased once practice had ended in the morning.

With his free time, he and Raph wandered into his lab. In a comfortable silence they both sat down at their respective tables and picked up the different items that they were fixing up to put on their website.

Don was currently working on an extra toaster that had been sitting around his lab for a few months now. He had a lot of practice fixing them since previous toasters in their home had seemed to all make a pact to stop working whenever Leo was present. It did feel slightly odd to Don to be fixing a toaster that hadn’t exploded in Leo’s hands.

Raph had found a couple a remote control cars on a previous trip to the junkyard a few weeks ago. There biggest damage was in how the wheels were held to the main frame and the electronic receiver that allowed the cars to be steered by the remotes.

Raph had borrowed one of Don’s books so that he could try fixing the electronic piece on his own without having to ask Don for his assistance. Raph’s plan was to fix up two of the three to put up to sell on their website. The third he was planning on keeping to give as a gift on Mikey’s birthday that was coming up soon.

The quiet of the lab was only occasionally interrupted by requests to pass certain tools. They had been working in otherwise near silence for almost an hour when Raph decided to break it with a thought that had been running through his head.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Raph said all of a sudden.

“Well I guess I’ve been rubbing off on you,” Don quipped with a snicker.

“Oh hardy har har,” Raph said back with a playful sneer. “If you’re going to be that way about it, I won’t tell you my great idea then.”

This caused Don to set down his pair of pliers and swivel in his desk chair so that he was facing Raph head on. “What’s your great idea Raph?” Don asked genuinely curious now.

Raph set down his own items so that he could talk without being distracted by what was in his hands. “I was thinking that we should have some sort of picture or emblem to go with our site,” began Raph. “It would help us to stand out and we could make stickers to go on the stuff we sell to make it look more like a real store’s.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Don said as his eyes got that far away look that said a plan was starting to form in his head. “Mikey’s always drawing and painting and his work always turns out amazing. I bet if we ask him he’d be willing to create an emblem to go along with our business.”

Raph smirked as he sat back in his chair and picked up the car he was working on. “See, there’s a reason that you keep me around,” Raph said proudly.

“That’s true,” agreed Don. “You aren’t just arm candy.”


	137. Restless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 16th - Luxury

Don had felt restless from the moment he woke up that morning. Practice did absolutely nothing to get rid of any of his excess energy. He even stayed after to spar against Leo for a few rounds for something that would keep him moving. After his body became too physically tired to continue he retreated to his lab hoping that he could now sit still.

He was wrong however. Just because his body was too tired to continue practicing ninjitsu didn’t mean that he mind was calm enough to allow him to concentrate on anything for longer than a few minutes. Multiple projects where picked up and started on only to be discarded as soon as his mind wandered away.

Sitting back in his chair Don tried to think of any place that he could go right then. It was early in the day and therefore far too light outside to go topside so it would have to be somewhere in the sewers.

Thinking over every place he knew in the sewers Don remembered the cavern that he and Raph had found months ago. They had talked about going for a swim there sometime but had never had the chance. Now would be the perfect time if Raph wasn’t busy doing something else.

Leaving his lab Don looked around the lair to see if he could spot Raph. The emerald green foot thrown over the end of the couch let him know exactly where his mate was. Walking over he could see that Raph was just mindlessly flipping through channels, not really watching anything that was on.

“Hey Raph. Are you busy right now?” Don asked leaning over the back of the couch.

“Not really. Why?” Raph answered as he looked up to where Don was standing.

Don smiled as he stood back and held out a hand to his older brother. “I was thinking that the two of us could go for a walk,” Don explained. “We don’t get the luxury of being alone a lot when we’re down here.”

Raph just shrugged and took Don’s hand. He was bored hanging around in the lair and spending time alone with his mate was always fun. It had to be more interesting than flipping through the over one hundred channels of nothing on that was the tv at the moment.

Raph had absolutely no idea where Don was leading them as they walked through different sewer tunnels. He knew exactly where they were. Having grown up down here it was essential to know the different routes. This didn’t mean however that he knew what destination Don had in mind.

After a few more turns however Raph caught on to where they were going and was able to walk more next to Don’s side instead of a step behind him. Walking into the cavern took both of their breaths away. They remembered how big it was but it was still a magnificent sight.

Letting go of Raph’s hand Don turned to face him with his back to the lake. A slow smile spread across Don’s face as he began to walk backwards, slowly peeling off his gear as he went. Raph’s eyes lit up as each new piece of skin was revealed and he quickly began to copy Don’s movements.

It wasn’t long before they were both shoulder deep in the water clinging to each other as their mouths attacked each other. The feel of the water all around them acted as such an erotic stimulant that they had dropped down in no time at all.

Raph let one arm snake around to Don’s backside and press against his entrance. The water acted as a lubricant and Raph was soon sliding more than just his finger inside Don. The feeling of being stretched like that had Don churring loudly as he wrapped his legs around Raph’s shell and allowed Raph to guide his movements.

Their thrusts soon became frantic and Don reached down to grasp himself, jerking himself off in time to Raph pounding into him. Raph gripped Don’s hips pulling him down to meet every thrust, making sure to hit his prostate each time.

The sensations were too much for Don and he climaxed with Raph’s name on his lips. The feel of Don’s inner walls clamping down on him was what sent Raph over the edge as he spilled himself deep inside Donnie.

Since they were surrounded by water there would be no need to clean up from their lovemaking. They just floated in the water for a while, just being close to each other. There was nowhere that they had to be and for the first time since walking up, Don didn’t feel too restless to just stay right where he was.


	138. Making Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 17th - Snow

Don and Raph headed downstairs that morning together. They had spent the previous night together in Don’s room continuing where they had left off when they had to leave the underground lake yesterday to head back to the lair. They would have stayed there all day if they could have but they hadn’t brought any food with them and had become hungry in the late afternoon.

By the time they got to the kitchen Leo had already eaten and left in order to meditate with Master Splinter for a little while before practice started. Mikey was still in the kitchen though. He was sitting at the table crunching on a bowl of cereal and playing with something that neither Raph nor Don could see from the entrance to the room.

As they walked farther into the kitchen they got a clearer look at what Mikey was playing with. It was the Sliver Sentry snow globe that April had given him that past Christmas.

“Whatcha got that for Mikey?” Raph asked as he poured his own bowl of cereal.

Mikey glanced up suddenly as though just noticing the presence of two of his older brothers. “Oh I was just watching the pretty snow inside,” Mikey answered almost wistfully. “We didn’t get a lot of it this year and I kind of miss it already.”

Don leaned back against the counter as he waited for the coffee to brew. “You miss not being able to go topside for weeks at a time because it’s too cold from all of the snow for us to handle?” Don teased.

“No, I don’t miss that,” Mikey said, smiling as he turned the snow globe over again. “But I do miss seeing Central Park all covered in white before the humans go and mess it up and making snow angels and having snowball fights.”

“Which you always lose,” Raph chimed in.

“Never!” Mikey exclaimed indignantly. “I’m the Battle Nexus Champion. I would never lose in a mere snowball fight.”

Raph just shook his head and went back to eating his cereal. He was in too good a mood today to allow himself to rise to Mikey’s taunt. Don smiled too as he joined his brothers at the table handing Raph the cup of coffee that he had poured for him and grabbed an apple for himself.

Mikey continued to twirl the globe around in his hands while he just watched the fake flakes weave around inside. “I saw somewhere on the internet once that it’s possible to make snow yourself,” he said after a moment. “Do you think we could do that Donnie?”

“It is possible,” Don began. “The problem is that it isn’t the right temperature to do it. You need to have boiling water but that isn’t the problem. The outside temperature needs to be really cold, pretty much below zero for it to work and it isn’t that cold anymore.”

“Oh,” Mikey said sadly.

“Hey,” Don said getting his attention. “This winter I promise that we’ll make snow together when it gets cold enough.”

Mikey’s eyes lit up at that. “You’re the best Donnie,” he yelled jumping up and hugging Don before running to tell Leo what he would be doing in the winter.

“You know he isn’t going to forget about that don’t you?” Raph asked as he took his empty bowl to the sink.

“It’s not too hard to do,” commented Don as he threw away his apple core. “Besides, it is a lot of fun.”

Together they left the kitchen and headed for the dojo. They didn’t want to be late for practice and Raph had a feeling that with Mikey as distracted as he was about making snow, he just might be able to beat his baby brother in sparring, Battle Nexus Champion or not.


	139. Injury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 18th - White

The four terrapin brothers had gone topside for patrol that night and had split up into pairs about an hour ago. The night had seemed quiet enough at first that none of them were too worried about being outnumbered in any fight that they might find.

Turtle luck was true to form that night though and breaking up a simple mugging had turned into a ferocious battle for two of the brothers. Don and Raph were outnumbered three to one against a small faction of the Purple Dragons and they weren’t trainees either.

They had held their own against their foes but Don had been rushed by two of them at one point and had been too slow to dodge a blade. It had originally been aimed at his neck but he had moved fast enough that it missed its target. Don paid the price for that with a deep cut on his thigh however.

Raph had been pissed when he heard Don cry out in pain when he got cut by the Purple Dragon. It was only a moment later that the one that attacked Don was on the ground with a sai buried in his gut. Rushing over, Raph caught Don as he began to sink to the ground when his injured leg refused to hold his weight anymore.

Setting Don back against the alley wall, Raph tore up some white bed sheets that someone had hung out to dry and wrapped them around the wound on Don’s leg. While Raph was busy doing that Don called Leo to let him know what had happened and to tell him and Mikey to meet them back at the lair.

Walking through the sewers was slow going when Don could barely put any weight on his injured leg. Instead he had one of his arms thrown over Raph’s shoulders and was allowing him to carry some of his weight.

Don grunted as he leaned against the tunnel wall outside the lair. Raph couldn’t hold him up and open the door at the same so he had to support his own weight for a moment. As soon as the door was open, Leo was hurrying over to assess the damage and help them get Don into his medical lab for someone to take a closer look at his leg.

Raph and Leo had a minor stare off as to who would be the one to look at Don’s leg and patch him up since Don couldn’t reach the cut himself. In the end Leo won out. While Raph had the same basic first aid knowledge that they all did and was starting to learn more since he and Don had become a couple, Leo still surpassed him once they got beyond the basics.

The white sheets that Raph had originally wrapped around the wound were now a deep scarlet color. As Leo carefully pulled the sheets away it was obvious that the cut would had to be stitched and rewrapped but the bleeding had stopped for the most part.

As Leo worked, Raph stayed by Don’s side the entire time holding his hand and offering what comfort he could. Once the stitches were finished Raph finally shooed Leo away saying that he knew how to wrap a bandage around a leg, thank you very much.

As Raph bound the dressing around Don’s leg he could help but notice how the stark white stood out against the olive color of Don’s skin.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there in time to help you Donnie,” Raph apologized quietly.

Don reached forward so he could tilt Raph’s chin up to look him in the eyes. “It wasn’t your fault Raph,” Don said earnestly. “You can’t be everywhere at once and I’m just as trained a ninja as you. Things are going to happen though and we’re going to get hurt from time to time. What matters is that we come home alive.”

Raph sighed and leaned into Don’s touch. “You’re right. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to worry though,” he said adamantly. Standing up he helped to pull Don to his feet. “Time for bed. You need your rest with the amount of blood that you lost tonight.”

“You’re coming to bed too right?” Don asked as he leaned against his mate for support.

“Of course Donnie-boy,” Raph promised. “There’s nowhere else that I would be tonight.”


	140. Sundae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 19th - Cherry

Don was still asleep when Raph woke up in the morning. Raph wasn't too surprised by this with the amount of blood that Don had lost last night from the cut on his thigh. Silently Raph slipped out of Don's bed with a soft kiss to his forehead. Covering Don up so that he wouldn't get cold, Raph left the room and headed downstairs for some breakfast.

When Raph walked into the kitchen everyone else was already present eating the French toast that Mikey had made. There were different toppings spread over the table. Quickly Raph forked two slices onto his plate and covered them with a cherry sauce and powdered sugar.

"Where's Don?" Leo asked Raph as he began eating.

"He's still upstairs asleep," Raph answered between bites. "He was really tired after losing the amount of blood that he did. I thought that it was best that he sleep in and just eat later when he wakes up."

"A very wise decision my son," Master Splinter praised. "Please let him know that I would like to speak with him when he wakes. I will need to know if his injury will prevent him from participating in evening practice."

Raph's mouth was full so he just nodded his head in agreement. The rest of breakfast passed by with quiet conversation and easy jokes passed back and forth amongst the four occupants of the table.

It was a few hours later that Don finally woke up and made his way slowly down to the main living area. He was limping slightly due to the wound on his leg but overall he was feeling better than he had when he had gone to bed last night.

Raph greeted him with a tender kiss and let him know that Master Splinter wanted to talk with him about practice later. At Don's worried expression Raph assured him that it was just to see if he would be able to take part.

When Don came back out from talking to his sensei he looked around for his brothers but didn't see them sitting in the living room where he had left them. Wandering into the kitchen he found them sitting at the table eating ice cream.  
Leo pointed with his spoon to a fourth bowl that was sitting on the table. "We made a sundae for you too Donnie," said Leo.

Don smiled as he took a seat next to Raph. "Thanks Leo." After a few bites Don pushed the bowl away. "I'm not too hungry right now though."

"Come on Donnie. You need to eat more than that," Mikey wheedled as he added another scope of ice cream and a couple more cherries to the top of Don's sundae. "You're gonna need all the energy you can get if you plan on being part of practice later."

"He's right Don," Raph agreed with his youngest brother. "You need to build your strength back up."

"All right," Don agreed with a tired smile.

Raph sat back eating his own sundae with a smirk on his face at how easily they had been able to talk Don into more ice cream. Don, noticing Raph's smirk, reached over with his spoon and stole the cherries off of Raph's sundae.

Popping them into his mouth Don smirked back at Raph. "That's for taking Mikey's side," Don gloated.

"Smart ass," Raph quipped back.

They all spent the next half hour sitting at the table talking and eating ice cream and stealing cherries from one another. It was very calming in comparison to the night they had previously. They knew that nights like that would happen again in the future so for the moment they endeavored to just enjoy each other's company.


	141. Way They Were Raised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 20th - Tree

Don was feeling better in the morning after having been excused from practice the night before and having a good night's sleep by Raph's side. While he may have lost a fair amount of blood two nights ago most components the make blood are naturally replaced within a few days and Don was beginning to feel better.

This did not mean that Don was ready to extend himself at practice or by going out on patrol yet. His leg was still hurt and the stitches weren't ready to come out yet so he couldn't risk pulling them. For now he was content to just sit on the couch with his brothers watching the morning news.

Raph was still feeling a bit protective of his mate and was sitting about as close to Don as he could get. They were sitting on the couch thigh to thigh and shoulder to shoulder. Don had his injured thigh pressed next to Raph that way it wouldn’t get jostled or hit when someone else sat on the couch.

The news that was on the tv that morning wasn't of a very positive nature. Leo had turned the channel to a bunch of guys in suits talking about the economy and upcoming election. The men were sitting around an oval table so they could face each other as they talked in a round table fashion.

Don, Leo, and Master Splinter were enjoying discussing the different topics that were brought up by the round table. Raph and Mikey weren't as interested but they did chime in whenever they felt they had something to say. For Raph that was when he disagreed with Leo and for Mikey it was to ask clarifying questions.

"I just don't get how these politicians can't see the effects of what they're doing on the future," Leo said disbelievingly. "It's like they don't know anything about strategy and planning ahead."

"It's a problem with both political party sides really," Don agreed. "There are only a select few people that seem willing to compromise and make the hard decisions now to ensure a better tomorrow. The rest are too split down party lines."

Master Splinter nodded in agreement with his sons’ assessments of what was wrong with politicians. "You both make very good points my sons," Splinter complimented. "There is a Greek proverb that says a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

Mikey’s face scrunched up in confusion as he tried to work out what Master Splinter was trying to get at. “So what that means is that politicians should stop what they’re doing and go plant a bunch of trees for people to sit under in the future?” Mikey asked

Raph snorted at Mikey’s guess. “That actually wouldn’t be too bad of an idea,” laughed Raph.

That also got laughs from Don, Leo, and Master Splinter.

“Not quite Mikey,” Don began to explain once his laughter subsided. “The trees are just a metaphor. It means that to create a great society you need people that do what’s in everyone’s best interest even if they don’t reap the benefits of it themselves.”

“That makes sense,” Mikey said. “It’s too bad more people don’t think that way. I guess we were just lucky in the way we were raised.”

“Yes we were Mikey,” Leo agreed taking his mate’s hand in his own and turning to face his father. “Yes we were.”


	142. New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 21st - Ghost

Practice had been more tolerable for Don that morning. He still wasn’t allowed to spar with his brothers though. Instead, while they did that he practiced his punches and form with Raph’s punching bag. After that was finished they all separated to go and do their own things.

Don was now sitting alone in his lab browsing through different art supply websites. Mikey’s birthday was coming up in a little over a week and Don wanted to get him some nice art supplies. Don had been setting aside some money from his business in order to get new, quality supplies for Mikey to use. He was thinking about getting a nice paint set, some canvases, and new brushes for his brother to use.

He smiled when he heard the laughter coming from the living room. Don had wanted to make sure that Mikey didn’t wander into his lab while he was on different art sites and Raph had agreed to distract Mikey for a few hours for him. Raph had decided to challenge Mikey to a video game face off. The loser had to do the winner’s chores for a week. 

Don’s hands stilled on the keyboard for a moment as he let his mind wander. Sitting in his lab by himself while his family did other activities wasn’t completely unusual. This used to be how he spent most of his days. At times it made him feel like a ghost within his own home.

Even though he had spent his whole life with only four other people, his level of intellect had created a barrier between them at times. He couldn’t always articulate what he wanted to say and his brothers could become frustrated when they couldn’t understand him.

There were times that Don had gone a few days without saying anything beyond the most basic civilities to anyone. He could move throughout the lair without being noticed on multiple occasions. Master Splinter had told him that this would help make him a great ninja in the future but it left Don feeling like a ghostly specter that couldn’t be seen even if he had wanted to be.

Don looked over to the side desk that he had cleared off months ago. He had made that space open when Raph started spending more time in his lab. Raph. His hothead brother that always had his back. The brother that on New Year’s Day confessed his love to him and captured Don’s heart.

Ever since Raph had entered his life as more than just his brother he hadn’t felt like a ghost anymore. There was someone now that made it their mission to know that he was taking care of himself, both physically and mentally.  
In a way, Raph had given him a new life. Don felt freer. Before he had been the one that everyone came to talk to when they had a problem. Now Don had someone to go to as well. Someone that put him first.

When Mikey started crowing in victory Don couldn’t help but chuckle. Raph had gone out of his way to make sure that Don no longer felt like a ghost and now Don would take time out of his schedule to help Raph with the extra chores that he now had.


	143. Night In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 22nd - Cuddle

It had been a few days since any of them had gone topside and it was starting to drive some of them up the walls. Mikey had taken to skateboarding the sewers with Leo running alongside him to try and burn off some of his own energy. Raph been spending any extra time he had using his punching bag or lifting weights.

Don felt kind of bad for all of this. He knew that it was because of him and the fact that he couldn’t patrol with an injured leg that they all had been remaining in the lair for the past few nights. Don was determined that they wouldn’t miss the chance to venture up to the streets tonight just because of him.

“Leo,” Don called out just as he was about to enter the dojo for some evening meditation. “It’s been a while since we’ve been on patrol and I think that tonight we be a good night to fix that.”

“Don you know that you can’t go on patrol while you have stitches in your leg,” Leo protested. “You could pull a stitch and hurt yourself even more.”

Don smiled at Leo’s concern. “I know that Leo,” He told his older brother. “I wasn’t suggesting I that go with you guys but you’ve all been antsy and deserve a chance to be able to stretch your legs.”

“Are you sure Donnie,” Mikey asked as he and Raph walked over hearing Don’s discussion with Leo. “I mean you must be tired of being cooped up too. You haven’t even been able to be part of practice for days now.”

“It’s okay,” Don said with a smile that was only slightly forced. “I know that I can’t patrol with the stitches still in my leg. I’m always telling you guys that you need to take it easy when you have stitches and I have to do the same now. I’m sure I can find something to occupy my time with.”

Placing a quick kiss on Raph’s cheek Don turned around and walked into the living room. Going over to the huge tv unit he riffled through the DVDs and put in the first season of Mythbusters. He carefully settled down on the couch to veg out while his brothers had their fun.

Behind him he heard the sound of the elevator open and close taking his brother up to ground level. Sitting back against the arms of the couch Don rested his chin in his hand. Mikey had been right about him beginning to feel restless himself but there was nothing that could be done about it.

Just as Don was hitting the play button he felt the back of the couch shift and as he turned around to see what was going on Raph’s strong body slid behind his own.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you spend the night in by yourself did you?” Raph asked.

“Kind of,” Don admitted. “Why would you want to spend the night cuddling on the couch when you could be out busting heads?”

Raph wrapped his arms around Don’s middle and nuzzled against his neck. “For you I would spend every night in the lair cuddling on the couch,” declared Raph.

Don hummed happily as he nuzzled back against Raph. It felt nice being cuddled in his mate’s arms and he wasn’t going to complain about it any time soon.


	144. Showtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 23rd - Bench

Raph stood up from the couch where he had been laying, staring at the ceiling for the past few minutes. The lair was quiet this afternoon and he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do with himself.

Mikey was in the kitchen working on making something for dinner that apparently took hours to make and Raph didn’t dare ask any questions. Leo was in Master Splinter’s room talking with him about different strategies they could use when they went topside.

From where Raph was standing in the living room he could see into Don’s lab. Don was busy sitting at his computer desk looking over the security systems to make sure that they were all up to date and working properly.

Raph was bored at the moment and wanted to hang out with his mate. The only problem was that he knew that if he were to bother Don right now while he was working he would just be turned down and thrown out of the lab. The trick was to get Don to come to him.

A wicked smile formed on Raph’s face as a plan was slowly taking shape in his head. Casually Raph walked across the room towards the dojo making sure to stretch to his full height as he passed by the doorway to the lab.

Entering the dojo Raph made his way straight over to his weight bench and began adding weights to the bar. He knew that Don would have a perfect view of him on his bench press from the lab and that Don could never seem to resist watching Raph lift weights. He had said before that he liked the way that Raph’s muscles bulged and flexed as he moved. Raph planned on putting on quite the show for his tech obsessed mate.

Slowly Raph laid back down on the bench and grasped the bar in his hands. He took his time lowering and lifting it over and over again. It wasn’t too much weight that it became too heavy after a few repetitions but it was enough that he began to perspire after a while.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see where Don was sitting at his computer. At first his mate didn’t seem to notice the show that he was putting on but that quickly changed. Don’s hands noticeably slowed down on the keyboard and Raph could see him glance his way from time to time.

Raph couldn’t help but smirk as the delays in Don’s typing became longer and longer and the glances that were thrown his way became less subtle. He was really starting to enjoy messing with Don’s concentration and added in a few grunts just to see what would happen. The reaction Raph got wasn’t quite what he expected though.

With a speed that wasn’t usually seen in the intelligent turtle, Don was out of his chair and in the dojo, closing the door behind him, in less than five seconds. Before Raph could utter a sound, Don’s mouth was clamped down on his. A pair of olive green hands grabbed his wrists and guided the weight up to its resting place. Once that was out of the way those same hands glided down Raph’s arms, gripping the muscles as they went.

“So did you enjoy your show Donnie-boy?” Raph asked once he was allowed to breathe again.

His only answer was for Don to move so that he was straddling his waist and for his mouth to be pulled back into a passionate kiss but it was enough for the meaning to be understood.


	145. Guardian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 24th - Angels

Don sighed quietly as he watched his brothers gather their gear together and get ready to head topside to patrol. He had been allowed to do some more complicate katas today during practice but sparring and patrolling still weren’t options.

It would still be another few days before the stitches in his leg could be removed and he could join them once again. Until than he had to remain in the lair when they went topside.

The thing that stung the most about his brothers getting ready was the speed and enthusiasm that Raph was showing. Don knew logically that Raph wouldn’t be staying behind in the lair with him for a second night in a row. He deserved the chance to stretch his legs and beat up Purple Dragons. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier for Don though.

He was just about to head into his lab and find some project to work on when something was shoved into his hands. It was the extra helmet to Raph’s shell cycle that he had in case one of his brothers ever wanted or needed to ride along with him.

“What’s this for?” Don questioned holding up the helmet.

“It’s for you,” Raph replied as he grabbed his and Don’s riding jackets. “You’re coming with me on patrol tonight. We’re gonna roam around street level on my cycle. I’ll stop any crime we see and you can be the getaway driver if I need one. Leo’s already okayed it so put on the helmet and let’s go genius.”

The smile that spread across Don’s face was quickly obscured as Don pulled the helmet down over his head. Taking Raph’s hand in his own Don tugged his mate hurriedly towards the elevator up to the garage.

He was nearly tripping over his feet in his excitement. He didn’t even mind the laughs he was getting from Mikey and Leo, he was so focused on being able to get out of the lair for the first time since his leg was hurt.

Raph didn’t waste any time getting onto his motorcycle once they reached the garage. He was almost afraid that if he didn’t move fast enough that Don would take it and leave without him. As soon as Raph was in place Don hopped on behind him and wrapped his arms snuggle around Raph’s waist.

“Thanks Raph,” Don said through the intercom that linked the two helmets together.

Together they spend off into the night. Driving through the dark New York streets at high speeds was something that had always given Raph a thrill. He had once seen a cute saying that read that ‘you should never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.’ Raph wasn’t too worried since he had his guardian angel sitting right behind him.

Once they hit the less populated streets Raph slowed down a bit so that they could be on the lookout for any illegal activity. So far the streets seemed quiet and without the nightlife that New York was typically known for.

As they turned down a side street Raph pulled the bike over to the curb and parked it for a minute. There was a group of teenagers standing grouped together two streets over. This almost always meant trouble and Raph began to dismount to go and make sure they weren’t planning anything.

Raph was stopped when he felt Don’s hand on his shoulder. “Wait,” Don whispered. “I don’t think they’re up to anything Raph. Angel’s with them.”

Raph took a closer look and saw the shock of purple that was their friend’s favorite way to style her hair.

“You’re right,” Raph agreed as he settled back onto the bike. “Don’t know how I missed that. Let’s keep going shall we?”

The tight squeeze of Don’s arms was all the encouragement that Raph needed as he opened up the throttle and sped down the street.


	146. Bedtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 25th - Midnight

The day had seemed to be both relaxing and busy all at the same time. Practice had gone smoothly and Master Splinter was pleased with the progress that Don was making in recovering strength in his injured leg. He no longer limped when he walked around and could comfortably rest his bodyweight on just that limb.

When practice was over everyone split up to go and do their own things. Don went to his lab and grabbed his duffle bag off of the floor. There were some cameras in a few of the tunnels that were acting up and he needed to go and take a look at them.

Leaving his lab he went to try and find Raph to see if he might want to join him. He found Raph in the kitchen standing at the counter with Mikey looking at a recipe book.

“Hey Raph. What are you looking at?” Don asked trying to look over Raph shoulder.

Raph whipped around at Don’s voice. “It just what Mikey was thinking of making for dinner tonight,” Raph said quickly moving so that Don couldn’t get a good look at the book. “I was thinking of giving him a hand so that I can make sure he doesn’t use too many dishes again.”

“Well have fun with that,” Don said accepting the answer. “I’m going to be working on some of the security cameras. I’ll see you guys later.”

As Don headed to the exit Leo walked up beside him. “Mind if I join you Donnie?” Leo asked.

“Sure. I can always use an extra pair of hands,” Don replied. “You can hold the flashlight so I can see while I check the wires. I think some of them have just come loose because none of the batteries are indicating that they’re dead.”

~

After dinner was done Don went back to his lab to make sure that the security cameras were working now. He had been right in his guess about the wires being loose so they had required only a few minutes of tweaking each to get them up and running again. Leo had done a good job holding the flashlight and handing the correct tools to Don.

It was starting to get a little late but not nearly as late as Don had stayed up in the past when Raph wandered into the lab and just watched him for a minute.

“You coming to bed any time soon Donnie?” Raph asked.

“I’m not sure. This shouldn’t take me too long but I can’t give you a concrete time,” Don answered without looking up.

“Well you better not be up until midnight,” Raph warned.

That caught Don’s attention and he turned to face Raph head on.

“Why not?” Don asked. “It’s not like midnight is all that late for me and we don’t have practice in the morning so I can always sleep in if I want to.”

“Because I’ve got a surprise for you early tomorrow morning,” Raph answered. “So you can’t sleep in and I don’t want you falling asleep during the surprise. So finish up what you’re doing and come upstairs to bed.”

Don watched as his mate left the lab and headed upstairs to his own room. He was curious about what the surprise was but knew that Raph could be tight lipped when he wanted to be. Don wouldn’t be getting any information out of him tonight so his best bet was to go along with Raph’s plan.


	147. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 26th - Dawn

Raph was woken from his slumber by the sound of beeping coming from beside his head. Sleepily he opened his eyes and saw that it was the alarm that he had set on his phone before going to bed the night before. Reaching over, he turned it off before it could wake Don up.

Looking down Raph could see Don cuddled up to his side still peacefully asleep. With great care Raph removed himself from the arm that was loosely slung over his waist and slipped out of the hammock. With a giant yawn he stumbled his way down to the kitchen to gather what he would need for Don’s surprise.

The lair was quiet and still as Raph made his way through the darkness. It wasn’t quite dawn yet and he normally wasn’t up this early. Master Splinter and Leo would be rising shortly though. Despite having no morning practice on Saturdays, they were both still early risers.

Still moving quietly, Raph went to the fridge and pulled out some containers that had been carefully hidden in the bottom drawer. Stacking them on the counter he filled the coffee pot with the French blend of coffee that Don loved so much.

While the coffee was brewing he reached under the counter and pulled out a mini cooler that he had stowed there yesterday while Don was out. Grabbing the containers from the counter, he stacked them up inside the cooler and put some icepacks inside to keep them cold. Once the coffee was finished he poured it from the pot into a thermos.

Walking back into his room Raph left the cooler and thermos sitting by the door. Carefully he slipped back to his hammock and looked down. Don looked so peaceful while he was sleeping that it was almost a shame to wake him but Raph wanted him to have his surprise.

Leaning down he found Don’s lips with his own. Slowly he began to move his lips against Don’s in a sensual kiss, deepening the pressure slightly to bring Don back to consciousness. When Don’s lips began to move easily against his own Raph pulled back.

“What time is it?” Don asked sleepily as his eyes fluttered open.

“It’s a little before dawn,” Raph answered as he pulled the blankets off of Don. “You need to get up. Remember, I have a surprise for you.”

Don groaned a bit as he slowly sat up and threw his legs over the side of the hammock. “It’s too early to be up without coffee,” Don complained.

“If you get up and come with me you can have some when we get where we’re going,” Raph promised.

With a sigh Don stood up and followed along behind Raph. He was still half asleep and didn’t notice Raph pick up the cooler and thermos on their way out of the room. Moving through the sewers Raph headed straight and sure towards a destination that only he knew.

Reaching a manhole cover Raph headed up first and reached his hand down to help Don out. Once the cover had been replaced he began to scale the fire escape with Don following in his footsteps. As he took his first steps onto the roof Don looked around in amazement just as the morning sun was dawning.

“Know where we are Donnie-boy?” Raph asked playfully as he sat down and began pulling the containers filled with breakfast items out of the cooler.

Don walked over and sat down next to Raph. “Yes,” he answered quietly. “This is the rooftop where you first told me that you loved me.”

“I just thought it would be nice to come here and have some breakfast. Just the two of us,” Raph said as he handed Don as cup of coffee.

“So that’s why you and Mikey were cooking together yesterday,” Don reasoned. Taking a sip from the cup he hummed in pleasure. “My favorite.”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure I got the recipes right,” Raph admitted. “I can do okay in the kitchen but Mikey is still the best.”

“Well I must say Raph. I really like my surprise,” Don complimented.

Raph’s only reply was another kiss to Don’s lips. This one with more passion but no less love than the one he had used to wake Don up.


	148. Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 27th - Poker

It had taken some engineering, promises, threats, and a liberal use of the puppy dog eyes but Mikey had managed to get all of his brothers seated together around the kitchen table. He had stayed up half the night before watching a poker tournament on tv and now wanted to see just how much better than his brothers it had made him.

Leo had been easy to sell on the idea. A few carefully placed words about how it could improve their deceptions skills and he had been putty in Mikey’s hands. Don hadn’t minded either way and so had readily agreed to Mikey’s request. Raph had been the hard one to convince to sit at the table.

Mikey supposed that was because he was always teasing Raph and Raph knew that it would distract him from the game at hand. The same way that Mikey used his jokes to distract Raph in practice, he would use them to win at poker and Raph initially wanted no part of it. When he saw that he would be the only one not playing though, Raph had reluctantly taken a seat next to Don.

Mikey smirked looking down at the cards in his hands. His brothers already knew all about how he used jokes and a smile as his poker face so he wasn’t too worried about giving anything away. Just because they knew about it didn’t mean they had a defense against it. In fact, all of them had their own type of poker faces that they used on a daily basis.

Taking a glance over at his mate, Mikey analyzed his expression. Leo always worked hard to keep himself calm and composed so it wasn’t surprising to see that his expression was giving nothing away at the moment. He knew how to let himself have a good time but the only one he really let his guard down around was Mikey.

Looking over at his middle brothers Mikey’s thoughts drift to the faces that they showed to the world. Don is almost as composed as Leo but still different. He didn’t keep all of his feelings bottled up like Leo did, just the hurt ones. If someone knew Don well enough though and caught him at just the right time, you could see everything he was feeling flashing through his eyes.

Don could hide behind his analytical thinking and the big words that he knew in order to throw off questions that he didn’t want to answer. Maybe that was why he worked so well with Raph.

Raph wouldn’t let Don’s attempts to dissuade him work and he just kept on pushing until he knew what was wrong so he could try and fix it. Those two had always been close and anything that tried to hurt Don was always met with Raph’s furry.

Raph had used his anger to hide behind ever since they were children. Whenever he felt hurt, either his feelings or a physical injury, he would cover it up with yelling and mean words. He tried to push his brothers away because he felt safer if they couldn’t get near him to hurt him again but one brother never took the hint.

Don would go back to Raph time after time to make sure that he was okay. He wouldn’t let Raph push him away but would instead lend an ear to listen to him without judgment. In a way, they had both already known each other’s poker faces and how to see through them even before they became a couple.

Mikey glanced back down at his cards. It was an okay hand but not a guaranteed win. It would be all up to how well he could bluff and how well they could read each other’s poker faces.


	149. Freaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 28th - Fate

Another night, another patrol. Leo, Raph, and Mikey had gone out for a run across the rooftops and looked for any crime that might be going on. They had thought that it would a quiet enough night. They were both right and wrong.  
During their run they managed to stop two break-ins and a mugging. It was all quite routine. When they heard a women screaming from a dark alleyway they headed over to help her thinking nothing of it.

It was a simple enough rescue. They dropped down from the rooftops and moved between the woman and the teenagers that were accosting her. Without wasting any time they pulled the teens away and had them running from the alley like there were hell hounds on their tails.

It was when they went to check on the woman to make sure that she was okay that everything went to hell in a hand basket. As soon as Raph stepped close enough to her that she could see his features she began screaming again.

"Stay away from me you freaks!" was the last thing they heard as she ran from them as fast as she possibly could.

All Leo, Raph, and Mikey could do was just stand there staring at each other in shock. No matter how many times the people that they rescued called them freaks and ran from them it didn’t get any easier. It hurt every time. As one they quietly turned around and headed back to the roofs, making their way home again.

Raph was exceptionally quiet when he entered the lair. Don had left his lab when he heard the door to the lair open. The smile that crossed Don’s face when he saw his mate had returned safe and sound quickly disappeared when Raph passed right by him and headed straight for the dojo.

Turning to look at Leo and Mike to if they could tell him what was wrong with Raph they just shook their heads. Their faces were closed and gave Don no clue as to what might have occurred as they made their way to Leo’s room for the night.

Now more curious and worried than he had been before his brothers got home, Don followed his mate into the dojo. Raph had already taken up residence by his beloved punching bag and was hitting it with as much power as he could muster.

“She called us freaks Don,” Raph explained as he continued hitting the bag. “We saved her from getting hurt or worse by some street punks and she called us freaks.”

Raph growled loudly as he punched the bag as hard and with as much power as he could. “It’s just not fair . Why do we got to look the way we do? We’re as normal as humans in any other way except appearance. Why do we have to be different?”

“It’s fate I guess,” Don said trying to soothe Raph. “Fate isn’t always kind to her subjects but she usually does have a plan. If we hadn’t been mutated than we never would have learned ninjitsu. If we didn’t know ninjitsu than all the people we have saved, including that woman, would have been hurt or even killed. There’s no way of knowing how that could have effected how things are today.”

Raph grabbed the bag as it swung back towards him. “I guess you’re right Don,” Raph sighed. “I just wish that fate wasn’t such a bitch at times.”


	150. Healed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 29th - Skin

Practice had been over for fifteen minutes and Raph and Don were heading to Don’s lab to take a look at Don’s leg. The stitches had been in for ten days now and the cut should have healed enough to allow the stitches to be removed.  
Leo had been insistent at first that he be there to remove the stitches. Raph had argued that he was more than capable of using a pairs of scissors and that Don, the doctor of the family, would be right there to help him if he needed it.

In the end Raph had won out. When they walked into the lab Don went right over to the medical table and hopped up while Raph made a point of locking the door behind him. Pulling the tray of surgical instruments over Raph took a seat next to Don and began unwrapping the bandage around his leg.

Peering closely at the skin that had been cut and stitched together just over a week ago Raph saw that it was healing nicely.

“Do you want me to give you a shot of something before I start pulling the thread out?” Raph asked looking up at Don.

“No I’ll be fine,” Don assured him. “Just take it slow and it’ll be all right.”

With a nod Raph picked up the scissors and made the first cut. Using a pair of pliers he carefully pulled the thread out from Don’s skin and laid it aside.

Once all of the thread was cut, pulled out, and laid aside Raph carefully ran his fingers over the newly healed skin. Looking back up at Don, Raph leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the scar that remained from the injury he had suffered.

Smiling Don used the foot of the leg that Raph wasn’t currently kissing to run along Raph’s exposed side sending a shiver through his body. Don smirked at the reaction that he got with so little effort.

Matching Don’s smirk with a lecherous grin of his own, Raph moved Don’s leg so that he could plant a kiss on his inner thigh. Not content with the sigh from his mate that he received he followed up the kiss with a gentle nip and a lick that moved closer and closer to Don’s lower plastron and slowly hardening cock.

Wordlessly Don grasped as Raph biceps and pulled him up onto the medical cot with him. Lay back Don willingly spread his legs so that Raph could move comfortable between them. Reaching up Don took hold of Raph’s bandana and pulled him down to claim his mouth in a passionate kiss.

While his mouth was occupied, Raph’s hands weren’t idle. One took hold of one of Don’s hands and laced their fingers together. The other was gripping Don’s hip firmly and rubbing soothing circles with his thumb.

Don raised his legs to wrap them around Raph’s waist pulling him even closer. He wanted to feel as much of Raph’s skin against his own as he possibly could. When Raph pulled away so they could breathe Don looked up at him with shining eyes.

“You locked the door behind you right?” Don asked breathlessly.

“Yeah why?” Raph answered as he began attacking Don’s long neck.

“Because we have a week of no sex to make up for and I don’t want anyone walking in on us.”


	151. Letting Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 30th - Demons

_He and Leo were yelling at each other. What they were yelling about, Raph wasn’t quite sure but he had the distinct feeling that he might be in the wrong. He wanted to stop their screaming match but he couldn’t seem to manage it._

_It almost felt like something was possessing his body, forcing him into his current actions. It was like his vision was going red and he was losing control of his actions. Raph’s hands balled up into fists and his body prepared to strike out at Leo despite how much his mind was protesting._

_Before he could throw a punch someone came up behind him and grabbed hold of his shoulder trying to stop his from hurting his older brother. The all consuming anger rose up within him and he turned and punched the person touching his as hard as he could without even looking to see who it was._

_The pained grunt as the body hit the floor however told Raph exactly who it was that he had hurt. Don lay on the ground with a hand clutched to his rapidly swelling eye while a trickle of blood seeped down from a cut that the punch had also inflicted._

_Horror slowly filled Raph as he looked at what he had done to his mate in a fit of rage. It felt like his body had a mind of its own at the time but that was still no excuse._

With a loud gasp Raph woke from the middle of his nightmare. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room but as soon as they did he glanced down at the bundle that was laying so trustingly in his arms.

Don’s chest rose and fell with his even breaths like he didn’t have a care in the world. With shaking hands Raph tried to extract himself from Don’s hold fearing that he may somehow hurt his smaller mate unintentionally as he had done in his dream.

Raph didn’t make it very far before the arms around him tightened their hold and Don’s eyes blinked open.

“Where are you going Raph?” Don asked sleepily.

“I, I j-just need to go somewhere Don,” Raph stuttered.

The quivering in Raph’s voice and the shaking of his body caught Don’s attention even in his half asleep state. Sitting up he turned on the bedside light and took a closer look at Raph.

“Raph what’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing because you’re shaking like a leaf,” Don asked searching for what was bothering his mate.

“I hurt you,” Raph answered simply.

That got a puzzled look from Don. He was fine and Raph had never once hurt him so he had no clue what he was talking about.

“In my dream,” Raph answered the unspoken question. “I was so angry that I couldn’t stop myself from hurting you.”

“Oh Raph,” Don said as he pulled his mate into a strong hug. “I thought you had let go of those demons a long time ago. You would never willingly hurt my or anyone in this family.”

“That’s not true,” Raph insisted even as he clung to Don’s embrace. “Those demons are still a part of me and I have hurt this family before. I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten into fights with Leo and that time I tried to take a pipe to Mikey’s head.”

Don took Raph’s face gently between his hands so he could look him in the eyes. “Raphael Hamato you need to listen to me right now. You need to let those things go. They are in the past. Yes you’ve made mistakes but you’ve also learned from them. You can’t let the demons from your past control you now.”

Raph snorted and tried to pull away but Don wouldn’t let him. “Easier said than done Don,” Raph said ruefully.

“Then let me be here for you,” Don told him earnestly. “Let me help you let go of the demons of your past.”

Looking into Don’s hopeful eyes Raph’s couldn’t help but begin to relax. Slowly Raph closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Don’s.

“Okay,” he whispered.


	152. Battle Nexus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 31st - Champion

Mikey had been nearly unbearable since he woke up that morning and it was only the early afternoon. It was his birthday today and he wasn’t letting anyone forget it. He’d had more energy than usual during practice but had also had a harder time focusing it.

Raph did become somewhat annoyed halfway through practice when Mikey continued to goof off but did his best to ignore him. He knew that his youngest brother would be hyperactive today and did his best to keep his patience.

“Whoo hoo. I am the Battle Nexus Champion!” Mikey yelled running around the lair with his arms raised in the air.

Today was the one day that he could rub being the champion in everyone’s faces and they would just sit back and take it so he was determined to make the most of it while he could.

“Mikey!” Leo yelled so he could be heard over his mate’s shouting. “Do you want to open your presents now or wait until after we have the cake later?”

“Now! Now, now, now, now, now,” Mike squealed in excitement, rushing over to the couch in the living room where Master Splinter was already seated in his normal chair.

Raph and Don had already taken seats next to each other on the couch and had set their gifts down on the coffee table. It wasn’t a big surprise to them that Mike wanted his presents earlier as opposed to later.

It was also a good thing that they had set the presents down because Mikey came barreling over the back of the couch, landing on Don and Raph’s laps and would have crushed the presents if they had been holding them.

Without waiting another moment Mikey grabbed the first thing that came to his hands. Ripping off the newspaper that the box was wrapped in, Mikey revealed an orange toy car and the remote that was used to control it.

“This is awesome,” Mikey said putting the car down and having it run a few experimental turns around the couch.

“I fixed it up myself,” Raph pointed out proudly.

The next box was slightly bigger and held the art supplies the Don had painstakingly hid in his lab from the prying eyes of his younger brother.

Mikey’s eyes widened when he saw the quality of the equipment that he now had to work with. “Thank you Donnie,” Mikey told him with a lot of feeling in his voice.

Next was the small rectangular shaped box that was from Master Splinter. Inside it rested a copy of the first issue of Silver Sentry.

“Miss O’Neil helped me to secure the desired comic. You do not have this one already my son correct?” Master Splinter asked.

Mikey just shook his head, speechless at the rare comic that he was now the owner of. The final package was handed to him by Leo and felt kind of squishy. When Mikey pulled the paper away he saw a folded up set of clothing. Shaking them out revealed and unmistakable TT embossed on the front.

“I saw that your old Turtle Titan costume was looking wore down and I thought that I would make you a new one,” Leo explained.

Mikey showed his gratitude by jumping across into Leo’s lap and planting a big kiss on his lips.

Master Splinter cleared his throat getting everyone’s attention. “I think now would be an excellent time to head to the kitchen and taste the wonderful cake that Donatello has made for Michelangelo for his birthday.”

“I think Mikey really enjoyed his gifts,” Don commented as he leaned back against Raph for a minute while everyone else left the couch to head for the kitchen.

“Yeah the nutball did have some fun,” Raph agreed. “Now he’s Leo’s problem to entertain for the rest of the day, if he can control him.”

Don chuckled at Raph’s assessment. “So I guess it wasn’t a good idea to add the extra frosting to spell out Battle Nexus Champion on the top of the cake than,” he teased.

Raph just groaned and placed a hand over his face, leaning back into the couch.


	153. A Look Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 1st - Diapers

Raph had been going to grab a broom from the storage closet that morning when Master Splinter had happened to catch a glimpse inside to see the mess that was in there. Now all four of the boys were tasked with taking out all of the boxes that were residing in there, sort through everything, and putting things away where they should be.

Leo was working diligently at the task at hand while Mikey was having fun playing with different toys that he found that he hadn’t seen in a while. Together Raph and Don were looking through a large box that appeared to contain things from when they were small children.

“What’s this?” Don asked holding up a camera that he found in the box.

“That’s what we call a camera Don,” Raph answered sarcastically.

Don stuck his tongue out at Raph as he stood up and pulled out the memory card. “I know that,” Don said. “I meant what pictures are on it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this camera before.”

Master Splinter walked over and held out a hand to take the camera from Don. “This was something that I found when the four of you were just babies. I remember taking pictures with it but could never go to have them printed for fear that humans would see them.”

“Well I can fix that now,” Don said proudly taking the memory chip to his lab.

Everyone followed along behind him eagerly wanting to see that pictures that their father had taken of them. It wasn’t too long before Don had inserted the memory card into a reader connected to his computer and was loading the pictures onto it.

A collective aww was voiced when the first picture popped up. It was Donnie laying on a pile of blankets, clutching a stuffed alligator, sleeping, and wearing nothing but a diaper. As a blush coated his face Don quickly flipped to the next picture.

This one was of Mikey standing up while holding onto a chair leg and trying to reach for a bottle that was sitting just beyond where his tiny hands could grab. The next picture in line was off Raph covered in mud sitting grumpily next to a tub while Leo was getting a bath.

Master Splinter chuckled as he relived those fond memories. “You were all so cute when you were younger.”

“Some of us haven’t change,” Mikey piped up receiving a slap upside the head from Raph.

“My biggest complaint would have been the diapers,” Master Splinter continued as though he hadn’t been interrupted. “It was quite difficult to get them to fit around your shells without them falling off.”

They were all smiling when Don clicked the button to bring up the next picture in line. This one was of Raph running across the lair as fast as his little legs would carry him. In his hand was clutched his diaper that he had apparently just pulled off.

Raph blushed a deep red when everyone else burst out laughing.

Master Splinter wiped his eyes of the tears that had formed in the corners. “I had almost forgotten,” he said once he had caught his breath. “Raphael hated wearing his diaper. You would rather run around naked and would pull it off every chance you got. It’s probably why you’re so good at untying knots now. You had so much practice as an infant.”

The rest of the boxes sitting out in the living room were forgotten as the small family found more comfortable places to sit. Getting the chance to look back at pictures from their childhood was a rare treat and not one that they were willing to give up. The boxes would always be there later to sort through.


	154. Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 2nd - Grass

It was sometimes discouraging that they couldn’t go topside during the day. Not being able to feel the sun on their skin or the grass under their feet could wear on a turtle after a while. Even though they couldn’t have sunlight, they got to have starlight.

Together Raph and Don walked hand in hand through Central Park. It was late at night and they had chosen one of the more secluded areas for privacy. They were also walking through the grass instead of on one of the paved paths in order to avoid any humans that may be out at this hour.

It was a warm night out with only a hint of a breeze. The sky was clear and gave them a perfect view of the stars when they weren’t walking under any trees. The feel of the grass beneath their feet was soft when compared to the hard sewer floors that they normally walked over.

They had been strolling through the park in almost silence for about twenty minutes. That was one thing they both appreciated about the other. Unlike Mikey or Leo they didn’t always feel the need to be talking all of the time. They were content to let the gentle squeeze of their hands or the brush of their shoulders speak for them.

When they came to a clearing between some trees Don stopped and tipped his head back to get a better look at the stars. Raph stopped beside him and glanced over at his mate.

While Don may have been fascinated with the stars above them, Raph couldn’t take his eyes off the shining reflections in Don’s eyes. Everything about Don always fascinated Raph. The way he would just let himself get dragged into a project or anything else that caught his interest was very similar to the way that Raph felt when he looked at Don. Sometimes he thought that he could spend days at a time just staring at his mate.

Lowering himself to the ground, Raph pulled Don with him. Don looked away from the sky long enough to settle himself on the ground without falling and tipped his head back again. Gently Raph guided Don’s head until he was resting it in Raph’s lap.

Don felt himself just relax into his mates hold. The brush of the grass against his skin tickled but it wasn’t enough to make him move and break the moment. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Raph playing with the ends of his mask.

Carefully Raph took a firmer hold of the purple mask and pulled it off f Don’s head so head could get a better look into his eyes and the stars that were reflected there. Don hummed in pleasure as Raph’s fingers brushed gently over his skin.

Leaning down Raph brushed his lips in a phantom kiss over Don’s exposed neck. It wasn’t often that they got to be completely alone and able to just revel in each other’s presence. Tonight they were just going to take their time and enjoy the night.


	155. Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 3rd - Missing

Raph stretched as tall as he could as he walked back into the lair. He and Leo had just come back from a couple of hours long run in the sewers just for the fun of it. They didn’t often spend much quality time together with just the two of them so it ended up as a very enjoyable evening.

Raph had originally been going to ask Don if he wanted to go with him but changed his mind at the last minute. Don had been tired throughout most of the day, most likely from their late night out together from the night before, and had decided to go lay down early. Raph was a bit sad that he wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of the night with his mate but he knew that he could curl up with him when he got back from his run.

Nodding goodnight to Leo, Raph made his way upstairs and headed straight to Don’s room. He was already stripping his gear off when he opened the door and saw that there was no one laying on the bed.

Raph just shrugged and closed the door. He was sure that he had seen Don go into his own room but maybe it had just been to put his gear away before going to lay down in Raph’s hammock. The rocking motion did tend to put Don right to sleep within minutes when he was tired.

This led to Raph becoming very confused when he opened his room door and saw that his room was just as empty as Don’s was. Moving into the room Raph quickly set all of his gear on a shelf and walked back out into the hallway.

Looking over the railing Raph tried to see if the light to Don’s lab was on. Sometimes the genius got ideas in the middle of the night and they just wouldn’t let him go back to sleep until he had put some work into them. The door to the lab was shrouded in darkness showing that there was no one in there. However, there was a glow coming from around the edges of the dojo door.

On silent feet Raph made his way down to the dojo and stepped inside. In the middle of the room was Don going through the most advanced katas that they knew with his bo staff. Sitting to the side having obviously been used recently were the practice katanas, sais, and nunchucks that were kept in the dojo.

“Everything okay Donnie?” Raph asked quietly when Don came to the end of the kata.

“I’m fine,” Don answered without looking Raph in the eye. Carefully he began to pick up the weapons that he had used and put them away. “I just had another dream about that future that I was sent to. You were there and you kept telling me that I had been missing for so long. You seemed so heartbroken When I woke up I couldn’t go back to sleep so I decided to come down here and practice until you got home.”

Raph walked over to were Don was standing and stilled his busy hands. “And you thought coming down here to practice would make it so that you never go missing is that right?” Raph asked gently.

“I just want to make sure that I’m not helpless in a fight,” Don tried to explain. “I want to make sure that no one can take me away and that I don’t leave you guys for thirty years wondering where I am.”

“Ain’t gonna happen Donnie,” said Raph resting his forehead against Don’s. “One you aren’t helpless in a fight. You’re a damn good ninja. And two, you really think I would just let someone walk away with you with putting in my two cents? I know that the future that you saw could never happen because we would never stop looking for you. Me especially.”

Don let go of the breath that he hadn’t even noticed that he was holding. “Thank you Raph,” he told his mate. “I know my fears are unfounded but sometimes they just feel so real.”

“Well I’m here now and I promise, I’m a whole lot scarier them some nightmare,” Raph said.

“Yes you are,” Don agreed placing a chaste kiss on Raph’s lips. “Let’s go to bed. I’m sure that I’ll sleep a whole lot better now that you’re back.”


	156. Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 4th - Fade

The physical portion of practice had ended and now all five of the motley family were settling down to begin meditation before being released from the dojo. As the four boys let their minds fade from the physical word onto the spiritual plane, Master Splinter remained aware and observed them.

Even sitting evenly spaced as they were it was easy for their father to feel the difference in their auras towards their chosen mates from just a few months ago. So many things had changed in his family since the beginning of the year and yet many had also stayed the same.

Certain relationships had faded away but new ones had come to take their place. All four of his sons had chosen to pursue relationships that went beyond those that were considered brotherly and he couldn’t be happier for them.

Raphael and Donatello had been the first. They had made an effort to keep their change a secret but their father knew them better than that. He had seen the way they would look at each other and the way that they made an effort to spend as much time with each other as possible.

Splinter couldn’t help but smile as he remembered how nervous his sons had been when they announced to the family that they had embarked on a romantic relationship with one another. They had been afraid that he wouldn’t give them his blessing but he had managed to make that fear fade away and replace it with the assurance that he was truly happy for both of them.

A few months later his oldest and youngest children began to experience new feeling towards each other. He had just smiled and let them figure their way through their emotions as they continued their daily lives. It was almost like living in a soap opera and Master Splinter didn’t want to miss one minute of it.

For a while Master Splinter had feared that his oldest son’s ability to detect changes in his orange banded brother’s personality was fading. He wasn’t picking up on any of the not so subtle hints that Michelangelo was dropping.

Master Splinter wasn’t concerned if Leonardo returned those feelings. If he didn’t he would let Michelangelo down easily. What did have him concerned was Leonardo’s lack of perception in the matter, which in turn had Splinter running him through extra training in regards to observation. In the end they managed to work everything out between them.

With a quiet sigh Master Splinter closed his eyes and began to let the world fade away. Slipping into a meditative trance was second nature to him by this point. Most parents may have been horrified if they had faced the same changed in family dynamics that they had but he had remain calm throughout.

In a way he both had and hadn’t been dismayed. He had been worried that his sons’ choices might endanger them as a team. It wouldn’t do to have any of them favoring one brother over another during battle just because of what they did behind closed doors.

However, Splinter couldn’t find it within himself to frown upon his children’s chance to get to experience love that which a family couldn’t provide. They may not have been normal by human standards but they still needed to feel like they belonged and the changes that they had made to the family had provided that for them. As long as they were safe and happy, Master Splinter couldn’t ask for any more for his precious sons.


	157. Antique

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 5th - Mail

It was a little before noon and everyone was gathered together in the living room. Mikey and Leo were playing an old school Mario Bros. games. Bowser had kidnapped Princess Peach again and Mikey had convinced Leo to be his sidekick to help him rescue her.

Don and Raph had originally been in the lab working on fixing items and answering emails for their business. The lab had grown stuffy though and both had wanted a change in location so they had joined their brothers out on the couch.

Don was looking over a drawing tablet that they had found in a store dumpster. The packaging had been dented and there were a few scratches on the tablet itself but Don was sure that he could get it back in working order.

Raph was sitting in a chair next to the couch with the laptop that Don had given him on Valentine’s Day on his lap. He was updating their inventory with things that had recently been repaired and going through different emails. Raph had to check the ones that their business had received and send out responses to people asking questions or trying to place orders.

“Hey Don. Could you take a look at this email?” Raph asked handing over the laptop. “This woman is asking about a repair job and it seems more your skill level.”

Don set the drawing tablet down on the coffee table and took the computer from Raph. One eyebrow raised as his eyes scanned across the text.

 

_Hello,  
I’m not sure if this falls within the nature of your business or if you even can do this but I figure that there is no harm in asking. My mother is an avid photographer and loves her old film camera to death. Unfortunately the film won’t advance for some reason and we can’t find anywhere to have it fixed. Everyone that we have spoken to has informed us that the camera is an antique and cannot be repaired and that she should just go digital. I was hoping that, based on items that you have repaired and put on your site in the past, you might be able to fix her camera as well.  
Jane Smith_

 

“I would have to do a little research but I think that I could probably do it,” Don said after he finished reading the email. “We would need to get our own mailing address if we did this though.”

“Yeah it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to give out April’s address to some stranger,” Raph agreed. “But it’s not like we can exactly have anything sent to the sewers.”

“We could get a P.O. Box at a post office and April could pick up the mail there for us,” Don suggested. “It would actually be a good idea to get one anyway. This is a great way for us to expand the business with fixing things that people already own.”

Raph nodded in agreement as he took back his laptop. “So I’ll email this chick back saying that we’ll try and fix her mom’s camera and then go call April to see if she could get a P.O. Box set up for us to get our mail,” Raph explained.

“This is very exciting,” Don couldn’t help but exclaim. “At one time I never would have imagined even doing this and now we’re expanding the business.”

“Pretty soon we’ll be turning people away,” smiled Raph. “As long as we’re having fun and not getting stressed like when you had your old job than that’s all that matters.”


	158. Wiggling Tail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 6th - Oven

Raph was one happy turtle. He was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table watching Don try to fix the oven. He had decided to indulge in a beer and Don had asked if he would pull a kettle on to heat some water for him.

He was feeling in the mood for some hot chocolate. Partly because he liked hot chocolate and partly because it always made him very sleepy after he finished drinking it. It was already late and Don didn’t have any intention of staying up much later so he was foregoing a late night cup of coffee.

When Raph went to switch on the stove to heat the water the oven started making some funny sounds. To be on the safe side and not break anything and thus risk incurring Don’s wrath, Raph had turned everything off and gone to find his mate.

This was how Raph found himself in the position he was in now. Apparently the fan in the back of the oven that was used for the convection cooking was catching on something, preventing it from making an easy rotation.

Don was currently situated with his front half stuck into the oven with his rump sticking out. Raph couldn’t drag his eyes away from the cute little tail that kept wiggling back and forth as Don worked to fix the stove. Raph wasn’t sure if the was the beer or the show in front of him but he could feel a definite warmth pooling in his lower plastron.

Throwing his head back Raph swallowed the last mouthful of beer from his bottle and stood up. Setting the bottle down on the table Raph began to walk over to the oven as though he were stalking his prey. He couldn’t help the leer that took over his face as Don shimmied out of the oven, his hips wiggling in the process.

As Don went to kneel so that he wasn’t bent over anymore, Raph knelt down right behind him. Putting his hands on Don’s hips Raph pulled him back so that his rump was flush against Raph’s lower plastron where his rapidly hardening member was housed allowing Don to feel just how aroused he was.

“I want you so bad right now Donnie-boy,” Raph growled in his ear, reaching one hand down to grasp Don’s stiffening tail. “You have no idea how hot it was to watch you with your ass in the air and your tail wagging back and forth.”

“Raph,” Don hissed even as he felt himself becoming aroused. “We’re in the kitchen. Everyone hasn’t gone to bed yet. Someone could walk in on us.”

Raph nipped at Don’s neck before replying. “You should have thought about that before getting me all worked up like this. Besides, if someone did come in than they can see who exactly you belong to.”

Don moaned as Raph went back to attacking his neck. Despite his misgivings about such a public display where others might see them he couldn’t help but love what Raph was doing to him.

“At least when I screwed you in the kitchen I had the decency to wait until everyone was out of the lair first,” Don reminded him.

Raph froze for a moment before hauling both of them to their feet and slamming Don as gently as he could manage against the counter before pressing up against him. “If I remember correctly I was the one that set that up,” Raph rumbled in his ear. “And now I think it’s time for me to get some payback.”


	159. Tick Tock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 7th - Clock

Raph grumbled as he walked through the cool sewer tunnel. It had been raining for the past few days which was now having a definite effect on the water levels in the sewers. Everything had been fine at first but when they woke up that morning water had started leaking in under the front door and getting the living room floor all wet.

Practice had been foregone that morning in an effort to track down why water was getting into their home. Normally the canals did a good at funneling the runoff water away from their home and not overflowing.

They suspected that there was a blockage somewhere along one of the runoffs. Removing the blockage was the only way to assure that they wouldn’t keep getting flooded. The only problem was that the canal that went by there home split up which meant that there were two different places that it could be blocked.

Mikey and Leo took the left branch while Don and Raph took the right one. Master Splinter remained back at the lair to try and remove as much water as he could before the entire place became flooded. It was a race against the clock.

Just because he knew it was important didn’t mean that Raph had to like traipsing through cold water in search of a blockage that may not even be in the same tunnel that he was in. Don was walking beside him but Raph wasn’t in much of a mood to talk.

After a few more twists and turns they came to the grate that prevented larger objects from escaping deep into the sewers and causing problems. Walking carefully over to it so they wouldn’t step on anything sharp that may be hidden under the water, they began running their hands over the grate.

Their hands came up empty however. There was nothing that was blocking the grate and all they had accomplished was to get themselves all wet. The blockage that was causing water to back up into their home must be in Mikey and Leo’s tunnel.

At this point they were both cold and wet and just wanted to get home quickly. The fastest way back to the lair was through a tunnel that they had to walk single file through. Don took the lead.

Raph wasn’t too bothered by following behind Don until they heard some strange sound coming from up ahead where their tunnel opened into a larger one. At that point Raph wasn’t too thrilled about being stuck behind Don, unable to protect him.

Carefully they made their way to the end of the tunnel and took a look around the corner. Both relaxed when they saw Leatherhead turn around a corner and disappear from sight. They had to get home to help clean up so they didn’t have time to stop and talk to their friend.

“That would have been a lot less stressful if LH was more like the crocodile in Peter Pan,” Raph grumbled.

“What do you mean Raph?” Don asked really confused.

“Well that croc had a clock in his stomach that made a ticking sound,” Raph explained. “If LH had made a ticking sound we would have known it was him and not freaked out.”

Don burst out laughing at Raph’s explanation. “I am so telling Leatherhead you said that the next time I see him.”


	160. Pillow Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 8th - Feathers

It had been a while since the four of them had hung out together and they had decided to remedy that tonight. Mikey had suggested that they stay up all night and watch a monster movie marathon. They didn’t have practice in the morning tomorrow so they could sleep through the day if they wanted to.

Raph had taken a seat on one end of the couch and pulled Don onto his lap when he came walking in carrying a bowl of popcorn. Smirking at Don’s surprised grunt, Raph wrapped one arm around Don’s waist and snagged a handful of popcorn with the other.

Leo carried in a couple sodas for each of them and set them on the table before claiming the other end of the couch. Mikey plopped himself down right in the middle with a large bowl of popcorn with some candy mixed in for him and Leo to share.

They decided on some old fashioned, black and white, horror movies with a few newer slasher movies thrown in for fun. They had all watched the movies enough times in the past that they didn’t get scared by any of the monsters that were in them. With all of the bad guys that they had faced in the past, monster movies didn’t faze them.

Unfortunately this also meant that the movies didn’t always hold their attention all the way through until the end. Mikey was the first to get bored despite being the one to have suggested the movies in the first place.

Setting the popcorn into Leo’s lap Mikey began looking for something to keep himself occupied with. The first thing he spotted was the pillow that was sitting between him and Raph. With a Cheshire cat grin he grabbed the pillow and yanked it out of its spot causing Raph to slide sideways, bump into him, and almost lose his hold on Donnie.

Without giving Raph any time to recover or figure out what he was up to, Mikey took the pillow and smacked Raph in the face with it. Don wasn’t about to let the attack on his mate go unpunished and so grabbed the pillow next to him and hit Mikey back with it.

This was the start of an all out pillow fight war. Each turtle armed himself with the nearest available pillow and started swinging. It was a good thing Don had given Master Splinter noise cancelling headphones for last Christmas because the laughter was quickly growing in volume.

It wasn’t long before Mikey, who had the oldest pillow, found his weapon slowly deflating and feathers were flying through the air. This caused Raph and Don to let out evil laughs and renew their attack on their youngest brother. Regardless of the threat, Mikey swung his arm around and bashed Leo’s face with the pillow in his hand.

“Mikey! You’re supposed to be on my side remember?” Leo sputtered through a mouthful of feathers.

“It’s every turtle for himself Leo,” Mikey yelled as he swung his leaking pillow towards Don.

Raph came to Don’s defense and Leo joined in with him after recovering from Mikey’s betrayal. All three of his brothers were now piling on top of him and Mikey was floundering. His pillow was now just a sack and he could barely see through all of the feathers in the air.

After a few more swings of each of their pillows they collapsed into a pile of laughter on the floor, the movie completely forgotten. It took them a while to catch their breaths but eventually they managed it.

“Well that was fun,” Don commented as he lazily blew a feather off of his beak.

“I don’t want to move now though,” Raph groaned as he stretched out next to Don. “I’m actually quite comfortable right here.”

Leo turned on his side and pulled Mikey close to him. “Then why don’t we all just spend the night right here in the living room like when we were kids,” he suggested.

“That’s sounds perfect,” Don said as he slipped the pillow that he had been using under his head and closed his eyes.  
His brothers weren’t far behind him drifting off into dreamland with the sounds of screams from their forgotten movie in the background.


	161. Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 9th - Hips

Raph had tried hard to keep it a secret. Topping more often than not in his relationship with Don had allowed Raph to manage it so far. It wasn’t something that he was ashamed of exactly; it just wasn’t something that he wanted everyone to know.

Right now he and Don were laying side by side facing each other on Don’s bed. They had just finished making love and were now basking in the afterglow. They were taking their time having fun making out and running their hands along each other’s bodies.

Leaning over his mate, Raph captured Don’s lips in a slow, deep kiss that left him breathless. Don’s hands, which had come up to grasp Raph’s biceps in an effort to keep himself anchored, slowly drifted down Raph’s body lightly brushing against his hips.

Shuddering and letting out a low moan, Raph could decide if he wanted to pull away or move closer to those roving hands. It was Raph’s biggest secret that he hadn’t even told Donnie.

His hips were very sensitive to touch. A light brush like what Don had just done sent shivers through his body. A firm grasp or digging his nails into his hips easily turned him on and made him achingly hard.

Up until this point Don had never had any idea. The smirk that spread across Don’s face let Raph know that Don had just figured it out though. The only thing that went through Raph’s mind was that he was now completely screwed as Don flipped them over and straddled him.

With his legs on either side of Raph’s hips Don squeezed tightly earning another moan from Raph. Now that he had figured out Raph weakness he was determined to use it to his advantage and give Raph as much pleasure as Don himself always received from his mate.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me Raph?” Don questioned looking down at his mate.

Raph blushed at the question and look away. “I was embarrassed to tell you,” he admitted. “It’s just really stupid.”

Don leaned down so that his plastron was pressed against Raph’s. Gently but firmly Don took Raph’s face in his hands and turned him so that he was once again looking into Don’s eyes.

“If it’s something that you enjoy than it isn’t stupid Raph,” Don said with conviction. “Do you think that it’s stupid that I get turned on by watching you lift weights?”

“No,” Raph admitted.

“And I don’t think this,” Don said squeezing his legs around Raph’s hips again and earning a rolling churr, “is stupid. You don’t need to hide things like this from me Raph. I like knowing what turns you on. You can share anything with me. I promise, I won’t ever laugh at you or think less of you for it.”

Raph looked in Don’s eyes and saw so much love pouring out of them that he felt his breath hitch in his throat. All he could do was nod as Don sealed his promise with bruising kiss.

When Don released Raph’s lips he began sliding down his body until he reached Raph’s lower plastron. The soft cartilage that hid Raph’s rapidly hardening member was bulging in an effort to keep it hidden from view.

Don ignored it in favor of placing a kiss on Raph’s right hip bone. Raph’s churrs got louder as he raised his hips seeking more attention. Don moved to the left hip bone, first nipping the skin with his teeth before kissing the mark he left behind.

When Don pulled his head up it was to the view of Raph’s cock standing tall and leaking copious amounts of precome down the shaft. With a smirk in Raph’s direction Don ran a finger through the liquid and used it to begin prepping Raph’s entrance.

All coherent thought had long since fled from Raph’s mind and he was now just a being of feeling and sensations. He barely noticed the slight burn of being stretched open without proper lube. All he wanted at that point was for Don to stop teasing him and finish the job that he had started.

His wish was granted when Don removed his finger and replaced it with something infinitely better. Don was also very worked up at that point from all of the teasing he had been doing and knew that he wouldn’t last very long but he still wanted to make sure that it was good for Raph too.

Moving his hands up, Don grabbed onto Raph’s hips and squeezed them tight every time he thrust forwards. Their churrs were echoing throughout the room serving only to heighten their arousal. It was with only a few more hard, quick thrusts that they both climaxed with neither of them ever having touched Raph’s cock.

Don had just enough strength left to pull out of Raph and roll to the side as they both settled into the afterglow.

“Promise me that next time you’ll just tell me if there’s something that you want to try okay?” Don asked.

“I don’t know. You did a pretty good job figuring it out on your own,” Raph commented as Don rolled his eyes. “Okay I promise. I know that you wouldn’t have made fun of me. I guess I was just too embarrassed. Next time I’ll tell you.”

“Good,” Don huffed as he laid his head down on Raph’s shoulder and ran his hand over Raph’s hip one last time before letting himself fall asleep.


	162. Deception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 10th - Music

Don was panting slightly as he wiped the sweat from his brow and took a drink from his water bottle. He and Leo had been sparring in the dojo for the past hour at Don’s request and they were both tired out now.

Yesterday during practice they had to swap weapons with each other so that they weren’t using their own. The purpose of the exercise had been so that if they ever lost their own weapon during battle they could still adapt and continue fighting with any weapon that they could find and wouldn’t be helpless.

During practice Don had felt uncoordinated with a weapon in each of his hands as opposed to just his single bo staff. Don had asked Leo this morning if he would mind working with him with the practice katanas in order to help Don become more comfortable with two weapons. Leo had agreed readily, always willing to help his brothers with their ninjitsu training.

Now that they were finished they headed out into the living room to see what the rest of their family was doing. Both Raph and Mikey were sitting on the couch with the tv on. Mikey was sitting with his head tipped back, fast asleep and Raph was just staring at the screen without really watching it.

“Well the two of you seem to be very busy,” Leo commented dryly. “Where’s Master Splinter?”

“Huh,” Raph grunted a bit startled as he realized that Don and Leo were now standing next to him. “Oh, uh, he’s in the kitchen eating his lunch I think.”

Don walked over so that he was leaning on the back of the couch and could see what Raph was watching. On the screen was a teenage girl that was very obviously pregnant. She was crying and screaming about how life wasn’t fair and that everyone was picking on her.

“What on Earth are you watching Raph?” Don asked as Leo shook his head in mild disgust and walked to the kitchen to join Master Splinter.

“It’s some show about pregnant chicks,” Raph said unable to tear his eyes away from the train wreck on the tv. “I think it’s called 16 and Pregnant. I wanted to listen to some music so I turn the channel to MTV and this is what I found.”

Don laughed at that as he jumped over that couch so that he could sit next to Raph, careful not to wake Mikey up. “I don’t think that MTV, Music Television, really shows any music videos anymore,” Don thought out loud.

Raph slouched down with his arms crossed across his chest. “Then maybe they should change the name of their network because Music Television is very misleading if they don’t showing any music on there,” Raph complained.

Don chuckled at Raph’s assessment. “Well we certainly made our own music last night,” Don said with a sly grin. “I need to go take a shower after the practice I just had. Would you like to come with me and we could perform an encore?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Raph said jumping up and following closely behind Don as he made his way to the bathroom.


	163. Fantasy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 11th - Daydream

Raph was having a hard time keeping his mind focused on reality today. It kept slipping off into very pleasant daydreams about Donnie and Raph was hard pressed to bring his mind out of the gutter and back to what was going on around him.

It had started that morning when he woke up in Don’s bed. He had been having a very erotic dream about his mate and had woken up horny. The scent of his lover that permeated the bed didn’t help his growing problem very much either.

Opening his eyes and reaching over to see if Don would help him out Raph realized that he was alone in the bed. A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table told him that he only had a few more minutes before someone would be coming in to drag his butt down to practice.

Slowly he got out of bed and made his way downstairs hoping to grab something to eat before heading to the dojo. Entering the kitchen though may not have been his best plan. Don had made himself a breakfast burrito to eat and was currently shoving the last bit into his wide open mouth.

All Raph wanted to do was go over and _shove the genius to his knees. Raph would replace the burrito with his cock in that wide mouth. Don’s mouth, which was always so hot and wet, was sure to get him off and offer him some relief from the hard on that had been plaguing him since waking._

“Hey Raph. Glad to see you finally decided to wake up and join the rest of us,” Leo said walking up behind his brother and pulling him from his daydream.

“Oh, yeah,” said Raph trying to control his breathing and not be too obvious about what he had just been thinking.

Following behind Leo, Raph decided that it might be best if he went a few rounds with his punching bag before practice began to try and get his arousal under control. By the time Don and Mikey had joined him, Leo, and Master Splinter in the dojo, Raph felt that he had calmed down enough that he could react normally.

He was right, up until sparring began. Master Splinter split them up so that he was up against Mikey and Don was facing Leo. Leo never gave them any breaks so Don was working very hard and letting out little grunts every now and again. Those sounds were going straight to Raph’s groin.

_Raph could just see himself and Don all alone in the dojo together. It would start as a friendly spar but soon Raph would have Don pinned to the floor. Don would cling to him as he shoved himself into Don’s willing body forcing out all those cute little grunts and moans that Don made during sex. They would just drive Raph even crazier._

Raph was knocked out of his latest daydream quite literally when he was too slow to block a punch that Mikey sent flying at his face. He was knocked off of his feet and landed hard on the mats that covered the floor.

Master Splinter rapped his walking stick hard on the floor to get his attention. “Raphael! Concentrate! Your focus is lacking,” he chastised his hotheaded son. “If you cannot finish out this exercise than you will remain behind when practice is finished for some extra training with me.”

Raph couldn’t help the blush that was spreading across his face as he accepted Mikey’s helping hand to stand up again. If he couldn’t get his mind to focus and stop daydreaming about banging Donnie, it was going to be a long day indeed.


	164. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 12th - Hanged Man

“E,” Don guessed.

“Yeah there are two Es,” Raph replied scribbling two Es onto the first and sixth of the eight spaces on a piece of paper.

E _ _ _ _ E _ _

Don was updating the anti-virus programs that he had on his computer and it was taking a while. He had originally thought that it would only take about fifteen minutes but it had already been more than double that. It was important that he have good anti-virus programs on his computer though with all of the hacking he did

Raph had joined him at the twenty minute mark and had suggested that they play a game of hang man to try and pass the time. Don, having nothing better to do at the moment, had agreed and had allowed Raph to choose the first word.

“A,” Don guessed again.

“Nope,” Raph said making a popping sound on the P as he drew a head on the end of the rope.

Don leaned back in his chair as he looked at the spaces remaining. “Are there any other vowels?” Don asked.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Raph chastised his mate while twirling the pencil around in his fingers. “I’m not answering that. You’re supposed to be the genius. You know the rules of the game. You guess a letter and then I’ll tell you if it’s right or not. Nothing else.”

“Fine, M,” Don sighed.

“Wrong again genius,” gloated Raph as he drew the body onto the man. “You know, this is kind of a morbid game don’t you think. You guess letters of the alphabet and if you don’t get the word right that guy dies.”

Don’s computer started beeping at that moment. Spinning around to check and see if the updates had finished he thought about what Raph had said. “I never really thought about it before,” Don said. “I always just played the game. S by the way.”

Raph filled in space number four. “It wouldn’t be that bad of a way to die,” he mused. “I mean compared to other ways that people are killed such as lethal injection and the electric chair.”

E _ _ S _ E _ _

That caught Don’s attention. “Why on Earth would you choose hanging?” Don asked. “Traditionally that has always been an execution style used for the worst criminals. The fall may snap your neck and you lose consciousness but you don’t die instantly. And if your neck doesn’t snap than you suffer a slow strangulation which can take a few minutes. R by the way.”

“I’d still take it over lethal injection or the electric chair,” Raph said stubbornly as he drew an arm on the hanging man.

“Why?” Don questioned. “I think of those choices I’d go with lethal injection. The first shot puts you to sleep so you don’t feel anything. It seems the most peaceful of the three options that you’re talking about. N.”

Raph wrote an N in spaces three and eight. “Lethal inject may be more peaceful than hanging but they strap you down to a table. The same for the electric chair,” Raph pointed out. “If I’m going to be killed for something I don’t want to be strapped down like an animal.”

E _ N S _ E _ N

Don switched off his computer now that he was sure the updates had finished installing and turned his chair so that he was facing his lover. “I know how much you hate feeling trapped,” Don told him taking Raph’s hands in his own. “I will always do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. And considering you tell me quite often that I’m as smart as Einstein I think I can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Sometimes you’re too smart for your own good,” Raph said as he filled in the remaining letters. “Guess your man isn’t going to hang after all.”

“And neither will you. Not so long as I’m around,” Don answered back.

E I N S T E I N


	165. Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 13th - Play

Raph wasn’t quite sure how he had gotten himself in this position. He was lying on his back on Don’s bed with his hands tied above his head to the headboard with one of Don’s masks. Donnie was currently sitting on Raph’s lower plastron looking down at him with a playful smirk. Raph groaned as Don rubbed their plastrons together and closed his eyes trying to figure out how he ended up like this.

_Don had woken up in a good mood that morning which was something for which Raph couldn’t say the same. He had been tired last night but couldn’t find a comfortable place to settle down and had spent most of the night tossing and turning. It was a wonder that Don had slept through it all._

_After barely making it through the day and now into the evening with his eyes open Don had encouraged him with a little playful teasing to go upstairs with him and lay down. Raph hadn’t put up too much of a fight and had gone to Don’s room at his mate’s urging._

_Raph was still feeling much tired when he felt his arms being raised above his head. At first he wasn’t sure what Don was up to but what felt like a warm wet tongue caressing the slit that housed his growing erection certainly gave him a clue._

_Trying to sit up proven futile when Raph realized that the ties on his hands limited his movement. The purple mask that bound his hands was a screaming stamp of his ownership to turtle that was lavishing attention to his lower regions. With one last play of his mouth over Raph’s tail and slit, Don sat up and moved to his current position._

“Feeling better Raphie?” Don asked playfully as he nipped at Raph’s jaw.

“Yeah but I can’t help but think that I’m dreaming,” Raph sighed. “What brought all of this on?”

Don reached down to where Raph’s cock was beginning to poke out and pulled it out the rest of the way to meet his own. “I was thinking that we could play a little game,” Don answered smugly. “The first one to cum loses. Want to play?”

Despite how worked up he felt, Raph couldn’t back down from the obvious challenge and nodded his head to his lover. “You’re on Donnie-boy,” Raph grinned cockily.

What Raph wasn’t counting on was Don playing dirty. Instead of moving down Raph’s body so that he was in between the hothead’s legs, Don shifted up a bit. Raising onto his knees, Don lined Raph’s dick up with his entrance and began to sit back down.

“Don wait,” Raph called out worriedly. “You need to prep yourself first or it will hurt you.”

“Don’t worry Raph,” Don assured him as he took Raph’s full length inside of him. “I’ve already taken care of it.”

Don knew he had the advantage in their game and he wasn’t afraid to use it. Settling on a steady rhythm, Don rode his lover making sure to squeeze his inner muscles tight around Raph’s rock hard erection. Those weren’t the only muscles that were being squeezed though. Don was also making sure to tighten his knees around Raph’s hips and give him additional pleasure.

Raph couldn’t hold on any longer as he came deep inside Don as his lover continued to ride him. The feeling of the warmth flooding into his core pushed Don over the edge and he covered Raph’s plastron with ropes of his own essence.

Reaching up Don untied Raph’s hands and helped to rub circulation back in from where Raph had been pulling at them. Raph’s cock came out of Don’s ass with a wet plop as Don rolled onto his side next to his mate.

“Think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?” Don asked as the afterglow settled over him.

His only answer was a soft snore in his ear but that was good enough for him.


	166. Teapot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 14th - Truth

Night had fallen over the city of New York. This meant that there were now plenty of shadows for a trained ninja to hide in. That was exactly what Raph and Don were counting on as they slipped from rooftop to rooftop towards their destination.

Once they reached a quiet street that was lined with shops that had closed down for the night they stopped running. Carefully they observed the area for a few minutes to make sure that nothing was out of place. They were on an important mission and didn’t want to be disturbed.

As soon as they were certain that they were alone, they used a fire escape to make their way to the ground. Sticking to the shadows they snuck over to one of the stores on the street and made their way to the side entrance where they would be more concealed.

Don slid forward first to check for any security cameras that might detect their presence. Finding none, he went to work disabling the electronic security alarm system. When he had completed his tasks, he stepped back and let Raph take his place.

Raph’s sais were better equipped to pick locks and he was very good at it too. It normally only took him about ten seconds to make it through the average store lock. Thirty seconds if it was a really hard one. While Raph worked, Don glanced back over his shoulder to make sure that they weren’t being watched and that the coast was still clear.

As they stepped inside and closed the door behind them, the smell of many different types of teas hit their noses. This was the store that Master Splinter normally got his tea from. Raph and Don were there looking for a teapot to give to their father for Father’s Day. The one he currently had was very old and had quite a few cracks and wouldn’t hold up for much longer.

They knew exactly which teapot they wanted to get so they were hoping that would make their trip quicker. There was a pot in the window that Raph had seen one time when he was riding on his bike through the city. It was covered in dragons which symbolized strength, luck, and the warding off of evil spirits in the Japanese culture.

April had offered to pick up the teapot for them but they were determined to do it themselves. Master Splinter was their father and they wanted to be the ones that got the gift for him.

“I kind of feel bad that we lied to sensei about what we’re doing,” Don whispered as he counted out the money while Raph got the pot.

“Well we couldn’t exactly tell him the truth about what we’re doing,” Raph insisted. “The present is supposed to be a surprise.”

Don just smiled as he finished counting out what they needed to leave to pay for the teapot. “I know that,” Don teased. “It’s just that we’ve always been taught to tell the truth, especially to sensei. But I do know that this one small untruth will pay off with the look on his face when he sees that pot on Sunday.”

“He definitely deserves the best,” Raph said adamantly. “He raised us by himself and he deserves to get something back for that.”

“And we will absolutely give that to him,” Don told Raph as he took his hand as they made their way out of the store and back to the lair.


	167. Desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 15th - Stay

_Blood. There was so much blood everywhere. If Don couldn’t get the bleeding under control Raph would die and he would lose everything. His brother, his mate, his lover, his very heart. Don needed to stay calm if he wanted any hope of saving Raph’s life. Unfortunately, calm was in very short supply right now._

_With the adrenaline that was running through Don’s system right now it was hard for him to recall the exact details of what had lead up to this moment right now. All Don had was the innate knowledge that this was his fault. Raph had gotten hurt protecting him and if he died that would be Don’s fault too._

_Even working as fast and as hard as he was the blood was still pouring out of Raph’s wounds. The heart monitor that Raph was hooked up to was going crazy as his heart pumped harder to try and make up for the blood that his body was losing._

_Don’s world came crashing down as the heart monitor flat lined and let out one constant beep. With an animalistic cry of rage and anguish, Don slammed his hands onto Raph’s chest in a desperate attempt to restart his heart._

_“NO!” Don cried out as he clung to his one last hope that was quickly diminishing. “Stay with me Raph. Stay with me! You can’t die. You just can’t. I don’t think that I can live without you. So stay with me. Please!”_

Don couldn’t help the disorienting feeling that came over him as he felt someone shaking his shoulder and calling his name in a voice he thought he would never hear again. When his eyes fluttered open he saw golden amber eyes that held a worried expression and were surrounded by a red mask.

With a loud sob Don launched himself from his prone position into Raph’s arms. Raph was surprised when he suddenly had an armful of Donnie but he said nothing for the moment and just held his mate close in his embrace while he sobbed and shuddered. When Don pulled back and began looking Raph over for any signs of injury Raph finally decided to say something.

“What is it Donnie?” Raph asked worriedly. “What’s got you so worked up? I left just a minute ago to go start the coffee and when I came back you were crying and asking me to stay with you.”

“You died and it was all my fault,” Don said burying his face in Raph’s neck, feeling the strong pulse there. “I wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t save you.”

“Oh Don,” Raph sighed sorrowfully pulling his mate closer. “I’m sure you would have done everything you possibly knew how to do. Besides, it was only a dream. I’m right here and here is exactly where I plan on staying.”

Don just nodded meekly but didn’t release his strong hold on his lover. Raph gently shifted Don’s weight so he could get back on the bed next to him and pull Don onto his lap. Practice would be shortly but Raph knew that this was where he needed to be. His mate needed him and he was planning on staying right beside him for as long as it took to make sure he was alright.


	168. Brotherly Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 16th - Nice

It was a little before lunch and Raph was in the dojo sparring with Leo. He and Don had both missed practice yesterday while he was calming Don down from his nightmare. As a result Master Splinter had insisted upon an extra practice today in addition to the normal one that would be held in the evening. Raph had felt that it was a nice trade for having missed practice yesterday and neither he nor Don had complained.

While their spar was light hearted overall, Leo wasn’t going easy one Raph and was making sure that he put his all into fighting back. This didn’t mean that they couldn’t have a friendly conversation while they were attacking each other.

“Is Don doing okay today?” Leo asked as he dodged a sai to the head. “He must have been pretty upset yesterday for Master Splinter to have let the two of you out of practice and Don won’t say anything about it to either myself or Mikey.”

“He’s doing fine,” Raph answered shortly as he tried to work himself close enough to Leo that his swords would become a liability. “It was a nightmare. He was a bit shaky when he woke up. If he had tried sparring yesterday morning I’m not sure that he could have held his bo straight.”

Remembering the fear that had been in Don’s eyes when Raph had woken him up gave Raph an added boast of strength from the anger he felt over the incident. Don should never have a reason to look that scared. Not when Raph was there to protect him.

Using that aggression to his advantage Raph managed to push Leo back a nice few feet and gained more room to move around in.

“He dreamed that I died and blamed himself for it,” Raph continued to explain. “He was crying, he was so upset. There was no way that I was gonna leave him like that.”

“That was very nice of you to stay with him,” Leo complimented.

Raph pinned him with his sharp gaze at the perceived insult. “He’s my mate. What exactly did you expected me to do? Just leave him there while he cried about not being able to save me in some stupid dream even though I’m alive and fine and just in the next room?”

Leo brought his katanas up just in time to stop a sai that was aimed straight at his throat. He was sure that Raph would have pulled his punch if Leo hadn’t moved in time but he didn’t really care for taking the chance. Don meant everything to Raph and he wasn’t going to be accused of not treating him right.

“That wasn’t what I meant Raph,” insisted Leo as he pushed back and got Raph on the defensive. “You just always seem to go out of your way to make people think that you’re such a tough guy but, as to paraphrase Mikey, you’re all soft and squishy inside. You’re a really nice brother and I know that you never would have left Don’s side when he was upset like that.”

Raph stared at his brother for a moment trying to figure out if he was serious or not as they continued the spar. “Okay than,” Raph conceded when he figured that Leo probably didn’t mean anything by what he had said before. “He’s doing better today though. We’ve all had those kind of dreams before. They shake you but they don’t stop you and it ain’t gonna stop Donnie.”

“He’s too tough to let a dream take him down,” Leo agreed. “That’s one way he definitely takes after you.”


	169. Father's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 17th - Mean

Father’s Day. One of a handful of days out of the year that was devoted entirely to Master Splinter. Ever since they were young children and had found out about the holiday, the four brothers had always gone out of their way to make the day as special as they could for their father.

They each had their own roles to make sure everything on this day went off without a hitch. They all got up at five in the morning in order to make sure that they were up before their father. He was always an early riser, even on the weekends but on Father’s Day he would remain in bed longer just to amuse his sons.

Mikey was in charge of making the breakfast that they would serve to Master Splinter in bed. While they all knew how to cook, Mikey was the one that could easily multitask in the kitchen without losing track of any of the dishes that he was working on.

Leo was joining his mate in the kitchen in order to prepare tea for their sensei. Since he was the one that drank tea the most often out of the four he was also the one that knew how to make it just the way Master Splinter liked it.

Don and Raph were working together as a team. They were going around the lair and making sure that everything was picked up and put back in its proper place. Master Splinter liked having a clean home and even though they didn’t live in a pigsty, none of them usually went out of their way to clean.

The biggest challenge when they were children was the rule that they had imposed upon themselves during Father’s Day. They were not allowed to be mean to one another. Being mean always led to fights and breaking up fights didn’t give their father the day off the way he was supposed to have.

Not being mean to each other in the traditional sense was something that they all struggled with at times. As they had grown up, teasing each other had become more of the norm. What would have once been thought of as mean, hurtful words were now just playful jokes to toss at each other during practice every day.

Their father wasn’t always the biggest fan of those jokes however so they all made an effort to watch what they said and remain pleasant throughout the entire day. When six o’clock rolled around, the time at which Master Splinter would usually rise and begin his day, the four brothers put everything for breakfast together on a tray and made their way to their father’s room.

Knowing that their father was already awake they smoothly opened the door and walked right into his room. “Happy Father’s Day,” they all choruses together.

“Good morning my sons and thank you,” Master Splinter said as he sat up and bed.

Mikey walked over carrying the tray and set it on Splinter’s lap. “We made you breakfast sensei,” he chirped. “And we brought you your presents too. The tea is from me and Leo. It’s a new kind that we thought you would like. It’s called Raspberry Riot Lemon Mate.”

“And the teapot is from me and Donnie,” Raph added in.

Splinter took a sip of the tea and smile as he set the cup back down. “That is very good tea. I quite enjoy it,” Master Splinter complimented. “And I truly love this new pot. It was past time that I got myself a new one and I really like this design.”

All of the boys had wide grins on their faces as they settled onto the floor around Master Splinter’s bed and joined him in eating breakfast. This was what Master Splinter loved the most about Father’s Day. It wasn’t the gifts that he received from his sons, it was the time together as a family that he cherished the most.


	170. Monopoly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 18th - Cheating

Don was considered by all to be the pacifist of the family and not normally inclined towards violence in order to solve problems. Right now though he was strongly thinking about temporarily rejecting those ways in order to teach his smug mate a lesson.

The day had been going by slowly and Don had grown bored of working in his lab. He had found Raph in his room lazily lifting weights. He had suggested that they play a game together and after a pouting look that Don had learned from his only younger brother he was able to convince Raph to play monopoly with him.

Staring down at the board now in confusion Don couldn’t figure out how everything was working out the way it was. He had been so sure that he would come out victorious. He had quickly purchased all of the blue and green properties which were the most expensive within a few trips around the board and he even owned Illinois Ave. which was arguably the most landed on space in the game.

Somehow though this wasn’t enough. Raph was flourishing with the few properties and hotels that he had been able to erect while Don was barely staving off bankruptcy with every roll of the dice.

If Don didn’t know any better he would have thought Raph was cheating. Don knew that Raph couldn’t be stealing from the bank because he was the banker and was paying very close attention to where the money was going. He couldn’t say that he hadn’t thought about slipping himself a few extra dollars though. It would be so humiliating to lose to his brother when he himself was known for being a genius.

“How on Earth are you doing this Raph?” Don cried out in frustration. “There is no conceivable way that you could be beating me with the spaces that we each own.”

Raph laughed at Don’s confusion as he casually tossed the dice onto the board to start his turn, easily getting a seven and landing safely on Free Parking.

“I guess I’m just that good,” Raph boasted.

Don slammed his fist down on the table in a rare flash of temper that fizzled out quickly when he noticed how dice reacted. The die that had been on two came straight back down and didn’t move. The die that had been showing a five however tipped so that it was about to fall onto a three but righted itself at the last minute.

Repeating his action Don hit the table four more times causing the dice to bounce with every hit. Each time they landed perfect back on two and five no matter how close they came to tipping over.

“You, you cheated,” Don sputtered out incredulously.

“Yeah,” Raph smirked leaning back in his chair and putting himself on full display. “Whatcha gonna do about it Donnie-boy?”

The smirk didn’t even falter from Raph’s smug face when Don stood up sharply and began dragging them towards the bedrooms.

“I think I might take a page out of Master Splinter’s book from when we were little,” Don growled. “Whenever we didn’t play fair at the games we played with each other we’d get a spanking. I think that just might convince you not to cheat in the future.”

Raph didn’t try pulling away from Don when he heard what his mate had up his sleeve but instead followed along right behind him. The only thing that went through his head was, ‘ohhh kinky’. At least now they wouldn’t be board any longer.


	171. Something Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 19th - Change

Don couldn’t think of any place he would rather be at that very moment. It was late and everyone had gone to bed hours ago. He and Raph had retired to Don’s room and were now currently cocooned in the blankets exploring each other’s mouths and bodies. The only sounds were the faint hum of the computer and their constant churrs.

A smile crossed Don’s lips as one of his hands wandered down Raph’s body and squeezed as his ass. He’d had no idea that Raph would be so responsive to being spanked or that he would have enjoyed the dominant role as much as he had.

The quiet whimpers that Raph hadn’t been able to keep hidden and the speed at which the hothead’s cock had hardened and dropped down had let Don know just how much his mate he been enjoying himself.

Maybe next time they would change roles and Don would be the one receiving the spankings. He was sure that Raph would enjoy bending him over his knee. The fact that Raph certainly did most of the topping anyway wasn’t lost on Don as he was pushed onto his back while Raph pillaged his mouth.

Don had a slightly different idea about something they should try. For the most part they almost always went with the missionary position when they had sex. Tonight he wanted to change that and try something new.

“Raph,” Don panted as he pulled his mouth away from Raph. “Wait a minute. I want to change things up tonight.”  
Raph leaned back a bit so he could look straight at Don. “What do you mean Donnie-boy?” he asked. “Don’t you like what we’re doing?”

“I do Raph. Really,” Don assured him stealing a quick kiss as he pushed Raph as that he was on his back and pulled the blankets off of them. “I just want to do something different tonight. Don’t you trust me Raphie?”

“Always,” Raph answered breathlessly. “I would trust you with my life Donnie.”

Don kissed him with a bruising force in response to Raph’s declaration. Releasing Raph’s lips Don slid down his body and placed a chaste kiss on the bulging slit that was housing Raph’s hardening member. With a groan Raph let go and dropped down only to meet the cool air.

Instead of taking Raph’s erection into his mouth right away he crawled on top of Raph’s body and twisted around. His head didn’t move but his own lower body was now at the top of the bed with his knees on either side of Raph’s head.

Raph picked up on Don’s idea very quickly when Don flipped his tail up, giving Raph the perfect view of his puckered entrance. Reaching up Raph took Don’s hips in his hands and pulled them closer. Attaching his mouth to Don’s slit, Raph suckled on it until Don’s cock tumbled into his mouth.

While Raph was paying attention to Don’s hard on, Don was lavishing attention to Raph’s lower regions. He would go from suckling on the tip of the head to taking it as deep into his throat as he could go without gagging which wasn’t as far as he would like but that would come with practice.

When he was doing that, Don let some of his saliva drip down to cover Raph’s ass and tail. Even with his mouth occupied, Don’s hands weren’t idle. One hand was being used to pull and tease at the wiggling tail while the other rubbed at the entrance to Raph’s body. Using his saliva as lube Don pushed one finger inside and searched for that bundle of nerves that would turn Raph into a puddle of happy goo.

Raph wasn’t about to let Don have all of the fun and was matching him move for move. He was having to crane his neck up so that he could reach all of Don’s erection but the sore muscles would be worth it as he brought as much pleasure to his lover that he could.

With both of them both giving and receiving attention it was only a matter of time before they reached their climaxes. Raph peaked a little before Don and came gushing into the genius’s throat which Don swallowed with only a dribble escaping.

Raph had pulled his mouth off of Don when he reached orgasm so as not to accidentally bite him and ended up with Don’s cum splattered all over his face and neck when the genius reached his peak.

As their erections faded and were pulled back inside, Don turned around again and moved to lay back next to his lover. Raph was busy licking the cum from around his mouth since he didn’t want to miss out on the tasty treat.  
“So what do you think of my change in plans?” Don asked smugly.

“I think you should pick what we do every night if you’re going to come up with ideas like that,” Raph said before leaning in and claiming Don’s lips, giving his a taste of himself. “That was definitely something different but I really liked it.”


	172. Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 20th - Piano

The loud buzzing of an alarm was what brought Raph out of the pleasant dreams that he had been having and back to the real world. With a groggy hand he reached over and turned his alarm of grumbling to himself about how much he hated the buzzing sound.

Turning back onto his side he cuddled up to Don’s body, not wanting to get out of bed just yet. They had been up late with their extracurricular activities and he didn’t want to face the day right away. The bed was so soft and he felt so warm with Don laying next to him.

_Maybe Don has the right idea about what kind of sound to use for an alarm, Raph thought as he slowly pulled his mate closer as he woke up as well. Never thought I’d actually like the sound of a piano but it has to be better than the stupid beeping sound that every alarm clock seems to make._

Don groaned in protest to the rude awakening and rubbed his nose into Raph’s neck. “What happened to the piano recording of Moonlight Sonata that I have set for my alarm?” Don asked sleepily.

“I must have hit the wrong button when I set the alarm for this morning last night,” Raph answered sheepishly as he nuzzled Don back. “I’ll make sure to hit the right switch next time.”

“Who says there’ll be a next time,” Don teased as he sat up and began moving the blankets out of the way so that he could get up. “I have my room set up just the way I like it and then you come in here with your stuff and change things.”

Raph would have been worried about what Don was saying if he didn’t have a large grin covering his face. Sitting up he threw his legs over the side of the bed and accepted his kneepads, elbow pads, and belt that Don handed to him. Looking around the room he noticed just how many of his own belonging had found their way into the genius’s room.

“I guess I do have a lot of my stuff in here,” Raph observed. “I could put it back in my room if it bothers you.”

“Naw. I kind of like having your things in here,” Don admitted. “It makes the space feel more shared.”

Raph took one last look around the room before following Don to the kitchen so they could grab some breakfast before practice started. While everyone else ate their meal Raph was lost in his own thoughts.

Today was the first day of summer and thus the longest day of the year which meant that Don’s birthday would be in only a few more days. Raph had been trying to think of something really good to give to his mate on his special day.

He had always tried to give his brother gifts that he thought that he would like but this would be Don’s first birthday with them together as a couple. It had to be extra special this year and Raph thought he had stumbled onto an idea for the perfect gift.


	173. Ugly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 21st - Pearls

Raph grumbled to himself as he and Leo made their way through the sewers to the intersection of 34th and High Street. They were planning on meeting up with Don and Mike there. Leo had deliberately chosen to split them up into pairs this way during patrol for a reason. He wanted to make sure that they weren’t becoming too complacent and could still function as a team even when they weren’t paired with their mate.

 _I guess we need a bit of work on that_ , thought Raph as he splashed through a puddle uncaring if he got any of the muck on himself.

~

He and Leo had headed out earlier that night to the harbor area when they split off from Don and Mikey for patrol. They had wanted to see some action tonight and there was almost always some criminal activity going on down by the docks. They had barely been there for fifteen minutes when Raph spotted three Purple Dragons approaching a couple that was walking the opposite way down the street.

Raph barely had the time to point them out to Leo before they quickly attacked the couple and ran away with the woman’s purse. Receiving an affirmative nod from Leo, the pair took off after the criminals tracking them along the rooftops. They caught up to the Purple Dragons in an alley next to a seafood restaurant when the Dragons stopped to go through the purse.

The fight was fairly simple with one of the punks running away as soon as he saw the turtles. Raph easily knocked the kid closest to him into the wall, assuring that he would stay down for a while and turned to see how Leo was doing. Leo had turned to watch the kid that was running away to make sure he didn’t turn around and attack them while their backs were turned.

This meant that he didn’t see when the guy holding the purse pulled a gun out of the waist of his pants and aim it at his head. Raph saw it however and was just close enough to knock Leo out of the way. This put Raph off balance though as he tried to get himself out of the way of the gun. This resulted in him going head first into a pile of garbage.

By the time Raph sat up Leo had already recovered, sliced the gun apart with his katana, and knocked the guy unconscious. Slowly Raph stood up and grimaced as he looked down at his body. He was covered in slime, fish entrails, and other things that he didn’t want to think about from the garbage he had landed in. The sound of laughter made him whip his head around to the side.

The Purple Dragon that Raph had knocked into the wall at the beginning of the fight was sitting up now. He was also pointing at Raph and laughing loudly. “It looks like the ugliest of the four freaks just got even uglier,” the kid mocked.

Raph wasted no time in stalking over to the guy and punching him hard enough that he joined his friend in unconsciousness. Without sparing a glance to Leo or a thought about the woman’s purse, Raph went over to the nearest manhole cover and dropped down into the sewer.

~

Raph was now pissed that he was covered in gunk and planned on heading straight home with or without Don and Mikey. Luckily for them they were waiting at the designated meeting point when Raph and Leo got there. They then wasted no time in heading back to the lair since Raph was very eager to get into the shower and wash the slime off of himself.

Don followed him into the bathroom casually removing his own gear and stood to the side as Raph looked at his reflection in the mirror over the sink. “Do I look ugly to you Donnie?” Raph asked softly.

Calmly Don walked up behind Raph and wrapped his arms around him, mindless of the mess that was smudging onto him.

“Raph I think you are the most beautiful person that I have ever seen,” Don said passionately. “You may not be what humans would say is beautiful but it’s what’s on the inside that counts. You are loving and caring and there is no one else that I would ever rather be with. You’re like the pearl inside an oyster and I couldn’t be happier.”

Raph sighed as his shoulders that had been tense, relaxed and he leaned back into Don’s hold. “Thank you Donnie,” he whispered. “As long as you think so that’s what matters the most to me. How about we get in the shower and you can help me get those hard to reach spots clean.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Don purred as he began stripping off Raph’s gear and pulling him towards the shower. He was going to spend tonight showing just how much of a pearl Raph was to him.


	174. Being Prepared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 22nd - Take

Don was sitting in his lab going through his medical supplies when Raph found him. It was a little after lunch and Don hadn’t shown up to join his brothers in the kitchen. Raph was determined that his mate wouldn’t miss eating just because he got too caught up in his work.

Raph walked into the lab unannounced carrying a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich sitting on it and walked right up too where Don was sitting. Setting the plate down a bit harder than strictly necessary, he made sure that he got Don’s attention.

“Eat it,” Raph ordered. “You aren’t skipping meals as long as I’m around. You’re too skinny as it is and your work can wait. I also fully plan on standing here until you finish that and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”

Don just blinked once before picking up the sandwich and taking a large bite out of it. While chewing and swallowing the bite his eyes never left Raph’s.

“Just so you know, Mikey brought me in some lunch earlier before you had yours,” Don informed Raph before taking another bite. “But this is a really good grilled cheese so I don’t mind having a second lunch.”

Raph had the good graces to look somewhat sheepish at having jumped to conclusions. “Well I know that some old habits die hard and I didn’t want you to be hungry,” Raph explained trying to change the subject. “So what are you working on anyway?”

Carefully Raph picked his way through the stuff that Don had spread on every available flat surface. It looked like a tornado had gone through the medical closet, taken everything out, and thrown it everywhere. Don looked up to see what Raph was talking about as Raph took a seat.

“I’m going through all of the medical supplies that I have ready on hand,” Don answered as he picked up a clipboard with that was sitting on the table with one hand and used the other to take another bite of the sandwich that Raph brought him. “I need to see what we have available and what we’re running low on and need to pick up the next time we go scavenging.”

“So do you know what we need yet?” Raph asked looking around to see if he could find anything out of place or that looked like it was running low.

Glancing at the inventory list that he had been making Don recited, “Some band aids, gauze, thread for stitches, pain killers, and it wouldn’t hurt if we could find some plaster and supplies for making a cast. We haven’t had any broken bones recently but it doesn’t hurt to be ready.”

“Most of that stuff we can take from a corner store and pharmacy the next time we go on patrol,” Raph suggested. “The stuff for making a cast will be tricky though. Do you know any medical supply stores that we could order it from. We could have the stuff shipped to our P.O. Box that we got for our business and April could pick it up for us.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking that’s what we’re going to have to do,” Don replied. “I wouldn’t trust anything that we found through normal scavenging. Our health replies too much of this stuff and I’m not willing to jeopardize that.”

Raph stood up from the chair and made his way over to the door. “I’ll go let Leo know that plans for our next patrol,” Raph said picking up the plate as he went. “Let me know if you need any help. We can always play doctor if you think you need the practice.”


	175. Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 23rd - Give

Raph had been busy since the moment he woke up that morning with Donnie nestled snuggly in his arms. It was the genius’s birthday and Raph was bound and determined that Don would have the best day possible.

Don’s day had started wonderfully with a slow kiss to wake him from his slumber and breakfast served to him in bed. Raph had made French toast with powdered sugar dusted on top, one of Don’s favorite meals. At his mate’s insistence Raph joined him back in bed and ate some of the fruit on the side of the plate.

By the time they had finished eating and made their way downstairs to join their family, April had arrived at the lair to visit. She wanted to ask if she could borrow Donnie for the day. Her water heater wasn’t working again and she was hoping that she could steal him away for a couple of hours to fix it. Don readily agreed and headed out with her to the tunnel that led to April’s basement.

What Don didn’t know was that the water heater hadn’t broken down on its own. April had deliberately sabotaged her own machine at Raph’s request. Last night when he had called her about picking up medical supplies at their P.O. Box he had also asked if she could distract Don for a few hours today.

Raph had a plan for the gift he was going to give to his mate but he needed him out of the lair in order to put his plan into action. Leo and Mikey had already finished with their gift and had offered to help Raph out but he wanted to do this on his own. Don had always been the giver of the family and Raph wanted to give something back to him.

When Raph finished setting up everything for his gift he called April and told him that she could send Don home now. It wasn’t fifteen minutes later that Don came walking in the door mumbling about water heaters and how they were the worse invention possible if they couldn’t even work right.

The sight of his brothers and father waiting for him in the living room though was cause enough to turn his frown into a smile. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they wanted to surprise him and give him their gifts now and that was why he had been out of the lair all morning.

“Us first. Us first,” Mikey chanted as Don took a seat on the couch. “This is from me, Leo, and sensei.”

The proud look on Mikey’s face as Don took the box and carefully removed the wrapping paper told him that he would really like whatever was inside. Taking the lid off he gasped at what he saw.

“Copper wire,” Don exclaimed running the wire through his hands. “Where did you guys find so much copper wire?”

“It was sensei’s idea,” Leo explained. “He remembered that you always seem to need copper wire. We took a few detours through some of the junkyards during patrol for the past few weeks and scavenged some.”

“Thank you guys so much,” Don said sincerely, giving his brothers and father a big hug each. Turning to Raph he looked at him expectantly.

“Come on birthday boy,” Raph said standing up and holding out his hand to Don. “Your present is upstairs.”

Don grabbed Raph’s hand and jumped up. When they got outside of the closed door to Don’s room Raph stopped them.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered gently.

With complete trust Don closed his eyes and waited. He felt the slight breeze as the door opened and stepped forward when Raph pulled him inside.

“Okay, you can open them now,” Raph whispered.

Slowly Don blinked his eyes open and looked around at his once familiar room taking in all of the changes. His bed was still where it had always been and his personal computer was still on his desk but there were also some new things that caught his attention.

There was now a hammock hanging where his table full of experiments used to be. A set of weights was now sitting against the far wall and Don could see more ninja gear than he own piled on the shelves as well as some red masks.  
“What is all of this Raph?” Don asked as he looked around in amazement.

“I moved in,” Raph said nervously. “We always end up in the same room together at night and I thought that it would just be easier if we moved in together. Your experiments and some of your other stuff are over in my room, or what hopefully used to be my room. I can move it all back if you’d like but I couldn’t think of a better gift to give you.”

Don was sure that Raph was going to keep rambling unless he stopped him. Turning quickly Don threw his arms around Raph’s neck and kissed him deeply.

“I love it Raph,” Don said when he finally pulled back. “I love it. I’d love for this to be our room and not just my room. Don’t you dare move anything back. This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”

Raph relaxed and wound his arms around Don’s waist. “Only the best for you Donnie-boy,” Raph whispered against Don’s lips. “Happy birthday.”


	176. About Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 24th - Big

With a happy sigh Don closed out of the programs that he was running and powered down his computer. It wasn’t too late at night but he wasn’t all that interested in staying up much later. After standing up and stretching a few muscles he turned out the lights in his lab and headed up to his and Raph’s room.

It had only been a day and it was still a little strange to think of it as their room and not just his room anymore. Strange, but in a good way. It was a big gesture for Raph to make, especially when he didn’t know if it would pay off. Then again Raph isn’t exactly a stranger to big gestures, thought Don remembering back to New Years.

As Don stripped off his gear and got ready for bed he continued to think about his mate and how the term big really did apply to him. There was of course the obvious. Of the four of them Raph was the biggest when it came to sheer muscle mass. In fact he was down in the dojo right now working on his punching bag in order to get rid of some of his excess energy before coming to bed.

Don loved what all of those workouts had done to Raph’s arms. They were so big and strong and Don always felt so safe when he was wrapped in them. Don was a great ninja and more than capable of defending himself but when he was in Raph’s arms, he felt like he didn’t have to.

With all of the training Raph did inside the dojo, he was also the one that fought the most topside as well. This also led him to being the one that got hurt the most. His medical file in Don’s lab was the biggest out of everyone in the family. This was something that oftentimes worried Don about his mate. He knew that Raph needed to let out steam every now and again but it scared him that Raph might not come back from those trips.

Don would never try to dissuade Raph from taking those trips topside though. Raph needed that time to himself. It helped him to clear his head and it also headed him to feel like he was making a difference to somebody.

Raph had a big heart and he couldn’t bear to see someone in pain when he could do something about it to help them. He just didn’t like to show that side of him to the outside world. Don was one of the few people that had the privilege of seeing Raph’s soft side.

The bedroom door gave a soft click as it opened and Raph slipped quietly inside. He didn’t know if Don was asleep yet and didn’t want to wake him if he was. He relaxed a bit when he saw Don’s eyes poking up over the covers watching him.

With a familiarity built up over the months of being together Raph moved in under the covers and pulled Donnie close to his side and began nibbling at his collarbone and neck. His workout before bed had gotten rid of some of his energy but not all of it.

Don moaned and tipped his head back giving Raph more room to work his magic. After all, Raph’s arms weren’t the only thing that was big about him.


	177. Gestures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 25th - Small

Helping each other came naturally to all four of the brothers. Since the time that they were old enough to begin doing chores around their home and trusted not to be supervised all their waking hours, Master Splinter had taught them to help each other in the work that they did. It was essential to their survival.

It started with small things such as one of them holding the dustpan while another wielded the broom or using each other as stepstools to reach things that were normally too high to grab. As they grew older they never stopped lending each other a hand with the things that they needed.

More often than not now it was with things that would be considered a big deal that they helped each other with. With the addition of going topside and getting into fights with dangerous enemies it couldn’t be helped that the things being offered help with would be bigger in nature.

This didn’t mean that all of the small things had fallen by the wayside though. Especially since Raph and Don got together, small gestures had taken on a whole new importance to them. It was the small everyday things that they did for each other that had become so important.

For Donnie that meant things like trying to go to bed at a decent hour at night so that he could spend the night with Raph. It was also so that he wouldn’t wake up his lover by climbing into bed after he had already fallen asleep.

It was placing a kiss on the wounds that he patched up on his mate after a night of patrolling the city that they protected. Don always did his best to fix all of his brothers but it was Raph that he gave the small extra special attention to.

Raph also knew how much small gestures meant to Donnie as well. That’s why he knew exactly how to make the coffee just the way Donnie liked it. That’s also why Raph could give such good massages. Don had fallen asleep so many times in front of his computer and woken up the next morning with his neck and shoulders all twisted into knots that Raph had a lot of experience working them out.

These weren’t things that took a lot of time or energy to do. There wasn’t a lot of thought that needed to go into doing them either. But those small, inconsequential gestures meant the world to each other.

They showed that their mate cared about them. They both knew that the other loved them but those small gestured showed that they cared enough to know the small details about each other. They knew with just a look or a glance what the other was thinking, feeling, needing.

They could live without having the other do those small gestures of love but it was that fact that they didn’t have to that made it a big deal. That they knew that the other was also there by their side, doing everything they could to make life just that little bit easier made all the difference in the world.


	178. Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 26th - Grow

Mikey and Leo were enjoying a relaxing night together in the living room. In exchange for Mikey joining Leo for an extra hour of meditation after practice, Leo had agreed to stay up late playing a video game marathon with his mate. While Mikey could still decimate him when it came to the games, Leo was improving with all of the practice he was getting lately.

Their relaxing night together was rudely interrupted by the sounds of shouts coming from the lab. The door was closed so the words were too muffled for them to make out what was being said. The tone of the voices was coming through loud and clear though.

The shouts that they could hear were not ones that were being said in the throes of passion but out of anger. This came as a bite of a shock to Leo and Mikey. As far as they knew their brothers weren’t having any problems in their relationship and it was very uncommon to hear them argue about anything.

The yelling between the couple came to an abrupt halt as Raph stomped out of the lab, slamming the door closed behind him. Instead of heading straight for the exit so he could go topside Raph paced angrily around the inside of the lair unable to decide where he wanted to go.

It was clear to anyone watching that Raph was upset about the argument that he had just had with his mate. What was surprising to both Leo and Mikey was the fact the Raph remained in the lair. Normally when he was this angry he called up Casey and went topside to bust some heads.

“Should we go talk to them?” Mikey whispered in concern to Leo as them watched Raph continue to pace angrily around the lair.

“Probably,” Leo reluctantly agreed. He had been having such a good night too. “You go talk to Donnie. I’ll deal with Raph.”

Mikey nodded and jumped up to head into the kitchen. If he was going to enter into the lab with an angry Donnie than he would need some sort of peace offering.

Leo decided to jump right in feet first and approach his normally hotheaded brother. He knew that he would need to advance cautiously or risk losing a limb. Walking towards the exit that led to the sewer tunnels Leo managed to catch Raph’s eye and nod at the door, silently asking if he wanted to go for a run.

Raph didn’t need to be asked twice and nearly ran to the door, brushing Leo’s shoulder as he moved past him. Leo just closed the door behind himself and followed along in his brother’s footsteps.

They ran for over an hour before Raph started to slow down and eventually come to a stop in a more deserted part of the sewer system. They were now standing on a platform that looked out over a reservoir of water. Raph leaned on the railing with his arms crossed against his chest. Leo just stood against the wall and waited for Raph to say something.

“I’m a moron,” Raph finally admitted after a few minutes of silence.

“That’s not true,” Leo protested. “I’m not going to pretend to know what your fight was about and I don’t want to know. That’s between you and Donnie. What I do know is the way you handled yourself.”

“Oh yeah. Stomping out of the lab like a two year old and running away into the sewers in handling myself so well,” Raph said sarcastically.

Leo walked over to where his brother was standing and leaned to the side so he could look at him face to face.

“Yes you stomped out of the lab,” conceded Leo. “But you stayed inside the lair and would have stayed there if I hadn’t have offered to go running with you. You didn’t immediately go topside looking for fights and I think that shows a great amount of personal growth.”

Raph just snorted and turned away, kicking at the pebbles on the ground. “Oh right. I’ve really grown,” grumbled Raph.

“You have,” Leo insisted. “Before you would have gone topside right away. Any of our thoughts, opinions, or worries be damned. Now you’re more considerate of Donnie feeling especially. You’re going to have fights. No relationship is perfect. It’s how you handle yourself that matters.”

The rest of Raph’s anger deflated out of him and he turned to look back the way that they had come. “I’m guessing part of growing as a person means going back and talking to Donnie huh,” Raph said.

“It would be a good start,” agreed Leo. “That’s up to you though. All I can say is that not talking probably won’t fix anything.”

Together they started walking back to the lair. It would take long than the time it took to run to where they are but Raph needed that time to think of what he was going to say to Don when he got back. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to Leo though.

“Thank bro.”

“Any time Raph.”


	179. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 27th - Mislead

Raph grunted a bit as he raised and lowered the barbell over his body. He hadn’t been able to think of anything to do after practice and had defaulted to lifting weights. He could have followed Don into his lab, the door was even cracked open a bit in an invitation, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to do that.

When Raph had gotten back from his run with Leo last night he had gone to find Don and they had made up after their fight. That didn’t mean that they were quite back to being lovey dovey yet. They had both said some hurtfully things that wouldn’t be forgotten quickly.

Continuing to lift the weights, Raph thought back to the argument itself. Don had been working on fixing up some sensors that could be put out in the sewers in order to have a few extra. Raph had offered to help him since there were five sitting on the desk and he wasn’t currently working on a project.

Donnie had declined his assistance however and this had upset Raph. Just because he had never worked with the sensors before didn’t mean that he couldn’t learn. He helped when it came to fixing the Battleshell and the shell cycle. Besides he had spent the past few months working with Don on their online business which included fixing the occasional electronic devise.

Raph almost felt like he had been mislead in Don’s confidence in his abilities. That’s probably what had hurt the hothead the most. With a sigh Raph set down the weight and got up off the bench. While he was still a little hurt that Don didn’t trust him, he would go into the lab and keep working on his own projects. That was the only way he could see that he could prove his skills to his mate.

When Raph entered the lab Don didn’t look up from the microscope that he was peering into. As Raph walked over to the desk that had become his own he came up short when he saw what was sitting on top of it.

On the middle of the desk was one of the broken sensors and the papers that Don had been using to fix them with. Glancing back over to where Don was sitting, Raph saw that he was sitting up now and watching Raph’s expression closely.

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry,” Don said quietly. “I know I said it last night but I wanted to show you that I mean it too.”

“You didn’t have to do this Donnie,” Raph hesitantly said, afraid that this might be taken away from him if he did. “I can take the time to show you that I can work on these without breaking them.”

Don looked down at his hands shamefaced. “I know you can Raphie,” Don whispered. “You already help with the stuff for our business and with the vehicles in the garage. Working on the sensors isn’t out of your skill set. I just wasn’t ready to let them go.”

That last statement confused Raph and he moved to sit next to Don. “What do you mean you weren’t ready to let go of them?” asked Raph

“I’m the one who’s always been in charge of our family’s safety from a technological standpoint,” Don explained. “I was a bit afraid of letting that go. If you help then I’m not in control of everything anymore. When Mikey came to talk to me last night he explained how that was a little bit selfish. He also told me that after me, you’re the one that knows the most about electronics and he’s right.”

“Giving up the control you’ve had is a hard habit to break,” Raph commented. “You’ve had our lives in your hands for so long that it’s hard to let go. I can understand now if you don’t want to.”

“No,” Don said adamantly. “I love you and I trust you with this.”

“Okay,” Raph agreed. “But I don’t want some paper telling me what to do. I want you to show me.”

Don smiled at the compromise and followed Raph over to his desk. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard to trust in after all.


	180. Healthy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 28th - Cookies

Master Splinter smiled as he looked around the dinner table at his sons. They were safe and happy. As a father he couldn’t ask for anything more for his sons. True there would be fights such as his two middle children had experienced in the past few days but as long as everything eventually returned to normal he was content to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Dinner had just finished and Don was helping Leo clear off the table and put the dishes in the sink. Their timing was perfect because as soon as the table was cleared the timer to the oven went off and Mikey rushed over to pull out the cookies before they burned.

Mikey had decided earlier that day that he wanted classic cookies and milk for dessert that night. His decision had been met with rousing approval by his brothers and father. Raph had even lent him a hand in exchange for sampling some of the batter.

Five glasses of milk were set in front of each of them and two plates of cookies were set on the table within easy reach. One of the plates had chocolate chips cookies and the other had oatmeal raisin. It was a given that there would be chocolate chip since it was such a classic. They also liked to have some variety and the oatmeal raisins were Don’s favorite so Raph had made sure that those were made.

“I love chocolate chip cookies,” Mikey said in happiness as he shoved two of the still cooling cookies straight into his mouth. “They are some of the best things ever create.”

“Looks like you’ve got your own personal Cookie Monster, Leo,” Raph teased as he took his own cookie before Mikey ate them all.

Leo snorted into his glass of milk. “You do know that they’ve taken that character off of Sesame Street right?”

“Yeah and it was really stupid,” argued Raph.

“It was too teach healthy eating habit to children,” Leo argued back as he nibbled at his own cookie. “Having a character whose sole purpose was to shove cookies into his face isn’t exactly being a good role model for impressionable children.”

“Neither is making the character disappear and pretending that junk food doesn’t exist,” said Don coming to his mate’s defense. “Almost everyone, children included, has access to junk food and the best way to teach healthy eating habits is to talk about them and not just say that junk food is bad.”

Mikey swallowed the large bite that was in his mouth so that he could take part in the conversation. “I really liked Cookie Monster,” Mikey piped up. “He was really spastic and it’s not like a lot of the cookies actually made it into his mouth. Most of them ending up crumbling to the floor. And for such a healthy eater you sure seem to be enjoying those cookies yourself.”

“It’s not like I eat them all of the time,” Leo tried to defend himself but could sense that it was a losing battle. Looking over to Master Splinter he could see that he wasn’t going to get any help from that corner either.

“I guess it probably would have been best to have Cookie Monster show that cookies are okay every now and again but not all the time instead of just taking him off of the show,” Leo finally conceded as he grabbed one last cookie.

Raph smirked in triumph as he popped the bit of his cookie into his mouth. Victory had never tasted so sweet.


	181. Pleasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 29th - Push

Ever since they were children, pushing and shoving were everyday occurrences. Trying to be the first one to dinner, the first one outside when they went scavenging, and the last one to bed required pushing. They were boys and roughhousing was part of growing up.

When they started their ninja training, pushing each other around became a required part of their lives in order to protect themselves. Using his physical strength to his advantage quickly became Raph’s specialty, in and out of the dojo.

Don knew intimately just how much Raph could push when he wanted to and Don couldn’t deny that there were times that he very much enjoyed being pushed around. For instance when Raph carried him into their room and shoved him back onto the bed. Don had no problem with that whatsoever.

As Raph climbed on top of Don’s body he gave him a soul searing kiss. Forcefully he thrust his tongue into Don’s mouth as though he was trying to stake his claim there. The way he was running his hands up and down Don’s body was almost like he was daring someone to come and try to steal his chosen mate away from him.

Don for his part responded to every touch, grasp, lick, and nip that he received from his more aggressive mate. He didn’t know quite what had gotten Raph so worked up but he was definitely enjoying the aftereffects.

Pushing back against Raph, Don was able to press their bodies tightly together in order to feel more friction. The growing bulges in their lower plastrons were becoming harder to contain and soon both of their erections had dropped down.

Raph slid his mouth down to Don’s long neck and began alternating between planting hard and soft kisses there. While his mouth was at work his hand was busy fumbling in the draw of the bedside table looking for the bottle of lube that they kept there. As horny as he felt, Raph would never do anything that would hurt Don.

When he finally had the bottle in his grasp he liberally coated his hand and went to work stretching Don’s entrance. Even with his erection growing harder at the sounds of pleasure that Don was making, Raph made it a point to tease across Don’s tail and search out the bundle of nerves deep within him.

Don was practically sobbing in lust by the time Raph removed his fingers and replaced them with his cock. He could never get enough of the feeling of being filled by his mate. It made Don feel like they were connected body and soul.

With an impulsive show of force, Don pushed Raph so that Raph was now laying on his back and Don was on top without ever losing their connection. Raph decided to go with this sudden change and never let up on petting Don’s body.

As Don rode up and down on Raph’s cock he made sure to squeeze his inner muscles in order to bring Raph as much pleasure as possible. Raph retaliated by grabbing Don’s penis in one hand and his tail in the other. This meant that as Don moved up and down on Raph, he was also moving between Raph’s talented hands.

Between Don clamping down on Raph and Raph squeezing Don, it wasn’t long before they both reached orgasm. The high that they got from their lovemaking lasted for a good few minutes before they both eventually settled back down.  
The afterglow came on fast as they curled up together for the night. Raph may have a bit of a pushy nature but Don loved every minute of it.


	182. Useful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 30th - Pull

It was Saturday. This meant that it was trash day for the city. This in turn meant that Don wanted to go junkyard hopping looking for treasurers that humans threw away. There wasn’t anything specific that he was hoping to find on this trip but with a bunch of new trash being thrown away the possibilities were endless.

Raph pulled himself up into the passenger seat of the Battleshell and settled in for the ride to the first dump. Even before he and Don had become a couple he had always been the one that got drafted into helping him on his big junkyard runs. Normally it wasn’t too bad. On the nights that they found a lot of thing they could be out for hours during which Mikey would get bored and Leo would become paranoid that they were being watched.

The main reason for choosing Raph came back to his strength. There were times that Don would find something interesting but it was buried underneath heavy items and he needed help getting to them. Raph would be delegated to lifting up the heavy item in question while Don pulled at whatever it was that he wanted a closer look at.

As they pulled into the first junkyard Don made sure to park in the shadows where they were less likely to be noticed. Carefully they slipped from the van and made their way between the many piles that were stacked up. Most were taller than they were and they would need to be careful when they went to pick through them.

After years of scavenging through these very dumps in order to make their lives easier they already knew the best places to look for anything that could be useful.

After wandering around for about twenty minutes they had only come across a few knickknacks that Don had wanted to keep just for the fun of it. So far they hadn’t been able to find anything that would be of any use to them back at the lair.

Deciding that others may have picked through the piles already and that they might have better luck at another junkyard, they turned around and headed back to the Battleshell. Don wasn’t quite ready to give up yet so they took a different route back to the van than the one that they had used going in.

“This is what happens when you go shopping without a list,” Raph teased Don.

“Oh hush,” Don shot back. “It’s not like had any plans that you’re now missing out on. You could have turned me down if you didn’t want to come with me.”

Raph chuckled at the jab. “True enough. So why don’t we pull out of here and go search for someplace more interesting?” Raph suggested. “There’s that junkyard four blocks over that has all of those abandoned cars. I think that I can come up with something fun that we can do there.”

Don didn’t respond verbally but instead quickened his pace back to the van. He knew quite a few ways that they could put those empty cars to use.


	183. It's The Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 1st - Gravity

Don was slowly woken from his slumber by soft kisses placed on his lips and face as well as gentle caresses to his plastron. Sleepily he began to return the kisses and caresses as he gained more awareness of where he was and what was happening. When he finally opened his eyes it was to see Raph smiling at him.

“Good morning beautiful,” Raph smile. “Did you know that you snore softly when you’re really tired? It’s cute.”

Don wrinkled his nose slightly at being called cute. He would tolerate being called beautiful by his mate but cute was crossing the line. He had his pride and dignity to maintain after all.

“It’s not my fault that I was really tired last night,” Don quipped. “If I recall, it was your idea to go searching through the abandoned cars last night. If I didn’t know any better I would have sworn that it was your plan to mark every single one.”

Raph smirked at the memory of their late night adventures. “Well at least you were able to find some gears and spare parts for the Battleshell and shell cycle,” Raph pointed out. “So the night of junkyard hopping was at least somewhat productive.”

This got a chuckle out of Don and he leaned in to steal another kiss from Raph’s lips. They were planning on staying under the covers for most of the morning making out. Those plans were interrupted though when Don’s stomach began to growl loudly.

“Hungry?” Raph teased as Don blushed and placed a hand over his grumbling stomach. “Let’s go get some food for you Brainiac.”

It was with only a small amount of reluctance that they left their bed and made their way to the kitchen for breakfast. The sight that greeted them as they walked into the kitchen made getting out of their nice warm covers worth it.

Mikey and Leo were standing together at the stove while Master Splinter watched from the table. From the batter and flour that they were covered in it was obvious to tell that pancakes were on the menu for that morning. Mikey was trying to teach Leo how to flip pancakes in the pan without having to use a spatula. So far he had been unsuccessful.

Just as Raph and Don were taking their seats at the table, Leo flipped the pan and sent the half baked pancake flying. Much to his chagrin it didn’t come back down again but instead stuck to the ceiling.

“Well what goes up must come down,” Mikey said with a slightly helpless shrug.

As soon as Mikey finished speaking that’s exactly what happened and the pancake lost its hold on the ceiling. Unfortunately it wasn’t hanging over the stove anymore and didn’t fall back into the pan. Instead it found a new home on the top of Raph’s head.

“Oh gravity, thou art a heartless bitch,” Raph muttered under his breath.

“Oops,” Leo muttered in apology as he handed a towel to Raph so he could clean himself off.

“Newton had his apple and Leo has a pancake,” Don laughed. “Gravity, it’s not just a good idea. It’s the law.”


	184. Fireflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 2nd - Temperature

Summer was both a blessing and a curse to the small mutant family. Summer meant that the weather was becoming nicer and that the temperature was warming up. The cold of the winter was slowly being forgotten and the lure of going topside was becoming greater.

Going topside during the winter held some challenges for them when they dared it. With their turtle physiology the cold had a greater effect on them than it did on humans. There was also the challenge that the snow presented. It was harder to hide their tracks when they had to march through the snow.

This didn’t make the warmth of the summer a walk in the park though. With the rise in temperature, it invited the brothers up to the streets, to wonder and enjoy being above ground. The problem with this is that they weren’t the only ones hearing this siren’s song. Humans did too and they were out in greater numbers meaning the brothers needed to put more work into their stealth.

To Raph and Don this was just another challenge to overcome if they wanted some time alone together out of sewers that stunk. Central park was an obvious choice but even that could be dangerous.

They planned on taking the more secluded routes through the park in order to remain hidden. The problem was that those routes were also the ones most likely to be used by other couples looking for some privacy. That just meant that they would have to be sneakier but that was their specialty.

As they turn off of a marked path and into a small grassy clearing they just stopped and looked in awe. All throughout the clearing were dots of light floating around and dancing through the air.

“Look at all of the fireflies,” Don whispered in amazement as he sat down at the edge of the clearing. “You hardly ever see this many around here. They don’t take to the city very well.”

“True,” Raph agreed as he settled down next to his mate. “We see them a lot more when we’re up at the farmhouse. They’re always flying through the fields in the summertime.”

Don hummed in agreement. Leaning over to press against Raph’s side he twined their hands together as they sat there.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been up there,” Don thought out loud. “Remember when we were talking about going up there? Just the two of us. Do you still want to do that?”

“Of course I would,” replied Raph almost indignantly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s just that I know you would miss being able to go out and stop criminals at night,” explained Don. “It’s just part of who you are and I wouldn’t change you for the world.”

Raph happily nuzzled at Don’s neck for a moment, please at the response Don gave. “As much as I love busting heads, I love spending time with you more,” said Raph. “How about we talk to Master Splinter when we get home and run the idea by him? Does a week sound good to you?”

“A week sounds perfect,” concurred Don. “How about we leave after the fourth that way we can spend the holiday with our family. And we’d have to ask Casey first if we can borrow the farmhouse. It wouldn’t be right to presume.”

“The bonehead will agree no problem. And I don’t think Master Splinter will have any issue with it as long as we make sure that we aren’t seen,” Raph said.

“Alright,” murmured Don as he once again returned his attention to the fireflies. They only came up during the warm weather and he didn’t want to miss a moment.


	185. Thinking Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 3rd - Hurt

Don was a little confused when he walked into the kitchen with the intent of grabbing a drink of water and saw Raph sitting at the table looking at a map. It was a map of the city but Don wasn’t quite sure why Raph would be looking at it.

After pouring some ice and water into a glass, Don pulled up a seat next to Raph and looked at the map in question. There were lines draw in pen over certain streets and crosses blocking out a few buildings.

“What are you doing Raph?” Don asked as he took a drink of his water.

“I’m trying to find a good place for us to watch the fireworks tomorrow night,” answered Raph, crossing out another building. “They way I figure it, if I can find a good spot now, than Leo will have less to complain about tomorrow when we go to head topside.”

Don analyzed the layout of the streets in proportion to where the fireworks were going to be set off. It was obvious that the buildings that were crossed out were because they would obstruct their view of the light show making it pointless to sit there.

“We’re going to want to stay away from this area,” observed Don as he pointed to the part of the map in question.

“Why’s that? What’s wrong with that area of the city?” questioned Raph. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

Laying his finger on the map, Don drew Raph’s attention to one building in particular. “It’s the biggest hospital in the city,” Don explained. “This is where the majority of people are going to be taken when they get hurt tomorrow.”

“Why are you predicting that a lot of people are going to get hurt?” Raph asked while crossing off the building and the surrounding streets. Leo wouldn’t like it one bit if they were anywhere near large crowds of humans.

“Well statistically speaking the fourth of July is one of the deadliest holidays of the year,” clarified Don. “There are more people driving and alcohol sales skyrocket. That combined with nonprofessionals playing with firework and sparklers is a recipe for disaster and for a lot of people getting hurt.”

Raph’s head popped up at Don’s explanation. “Oh, that reminds me, I need to give April a call later and give her a head’s up to hide the beer if Casey’s going over to her apartment tomorrow,” Raph thought out loud. “The bonehead would definitely take advantage of the holiday as an excuse to drink. He’d also be one of the ones needing to be taken to the emergency room for hurting himself.”

Don chuckled at Raph’s apparent lack of faith in his human friend. “I’ll go give April a call,” Don offered, standing up and taking his glass of water with him. “I can ask her if she wants to come see the fireworks with us. That sound good to you?”

“That sounds great. After all, April’s family too. She and Casey are always welcome,” Raph said over his shoulder as he continued to find the best vantage point.

There weren’t many times that they deliberately went topside close to so many humans and Leo wasn’t the only one that could think ahead and plan for their safety.


	186. Independence Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 4th - Shine

Raph looked over to the kitchen where Mikey was running around like a chicken with his head cut off as he tried to pack as many snacks as possible into a basket. He had argued earlier that they couldn’t possibly watch the fireworks go off if they didn’t have any snacks with them to eat.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Raph was just thankful that he didn’t have to deal with Mikey right now as that was Leo’s job. As his mate, older brother, and leader of the team, Leo was responsible for making sure that Mikey didn’t drive everyone crazy enough to try throwing him off the top of a building while they watched the shining light show above them once they got topside.

This actually worked out well in Raph’s favor. He, Don, and Mikey had all gone to Leo together to ask him about going topside to see the fireworks. There was strength in numbers after all and after seeing Raph’s carefully diagramed map, he had very little reason to say no. The fact that the building he decided on was the top of April’s apartment didn’t hurt either.

Don was currently up in the garage cleaning the Battleshell out so that they could fit all five of them in there comfortably and still have room for the food that Mikey wanted to bring over to April’s. That had been Master Splinter’s idea and he did have a very valid point. The van was quite messy with stuff from Don’s last junkyard run.

Half an hour passed and everyone was finally ready to head out. Loading up the van took only a moment with everyone helping and they were soon off and on their way to April’s. When they got there they parked in the alleyway and made their way up to the roof by way of the fire escape.

Casey was already up there with a shiny new grill that he had brought over in order to grill burgers and hotdogs to eat for dinner. Mikey took the basket of snacks that he had and laid them out on the table that April had set up. Raph, Don, and Leo went to help April put out chairs for them all to sit on.

Once the chairs were all set up and they all had plates on food on their laps, everyone settled down and waited as the sky began to darken. As it got closer to the time that the firework were set to go off, the shine from the lights at street level began to dim as shop owners turned out their lights for the night.

Suddenly a bang sounded and an explosion of red filled the sky. This was followed shortly by bursts of blue and white. The easy conversation that had been going on between everyone was halted as they turned their attention skyward towards the shining lights.

Don pulled his gaze away from the sky for a moment and looked to his left at his mate. It wasn’t very often that anyone got to see Raph’s face so open in honest amazement and joy. To see it now warmed Don’s heart and he couldn’t help but scoot his chair closer to Raph’s in order to take his hand in his own.

Raph looked down at the hand that was holding his. Following the arms up to the rest of the body that was attached to that hand, Raph grinned in return when he saw the smile on Don’s face.

“Happy Independence Day Raphie,” Don whispered as he leaned in for a kiss while a red and purple firework exploded overhead.


	187. Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 5th - Dull

It was early in the morning and the sun hadn’t even made an appearance on the horizon yet. Raph roamed blearily around the lair as he gathered together the things that he and Donnie would need on their week away together. The dull gleam in his eyes announced to everyone that he wasn’t fully awake yet.

Don was a bit more awake than Raph but that was mostly due to the mug of coffee that he had clutched in a death grip in his hands. By the looks of it he wasn’t going to be giving it up any time soon. He would be the one doing the driving up to the farmhouse and he needed to remain awake and alert.

They wanted to make sure that they got on the road before it was cluttered with humans trying to get home after the holiday. The Battleshell did have tinted windows but they didn’t want to take any chances that they didn’t have to.

Before long everything they needed was pack into a few bags and ready to be put in the van. The rest of their family had pulled themselves out of bed in order to see them off. With a few quick goodbyes and promises to stay safe and call if they got into any trouble, Raph and Don took the elevator up to the garage and headed onto the road.

With a long drink from his coffee mug, Don climbed into the driver’s seat while Raph took the passenger’s side. Raph tried to stay awake in order to keep Don company but he was fighting a losing battle. Once they were out of the city there wasn’t much to hold Raph’s attention and with Don not awake enough to have a conversation with, Raph soon found himself dozing off with his head resting against the window.

Don was able to keep himself entertained for a bit longer than his mate. As the driver he had to stay awake so they didn’t get into a crash. The first hour was the easiest. The sun was just starting to rise and it painted beautiful splashing of red, orange, pink, and gold across the sky.

Unfortunately this display only lasted for about half an hour before the colors started fading away leaving only the dull early morning sky behind. After that there wasn’t much left to keep Don’s attention and he went back to his coffee as a means of staying awake.

The farmhouse was only a few hours’ drive away and this wasn’t the first time Don had driven all the way up there. The first time had been the hardest. Leo had been severely injured and they were all afraid that they might lose him.

The second trip had been easier. It was for a bit of a retreat after Leo had been challenged as the ultimate ninja. That had been a relaxing trip and one were they didn’t need to worry about anyone’s safety. There were other times that they had gone up there but this would be the first trip that they weren’t all making together as a family.

As the hours passed by Don thought about all the things that they could do together while they were at the farmhouse. Without their family always around it would ease up where they could perform any extracurricular activities without the fear of anyone walking in on them.

Soon the time melted away and Don was pulling into the driveway. Putting the van in park and turning off the engine he sat there for a moment just taking in the view. Carefully he reached over and shook Raph’s shoulder to wake him.

Raph may have slept the whole way leaving Don alone with his thoughts but that could work to his advantage. It just meant that Raph would have a lot of energy once they got everything moved into the house. And Don knew plenty of ways to put that energy to use.


	188. Toast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 6th - Right

Don stood at the stove that morning with a pan in front of him on the stove heating up. He hadn’t been able to find the toaster so he had to make toast the old fashioned way. It was actually quite late in the morning to be having breakfast but then again he and Raph had stayed up into the early morning hours breaking in their new bed.

When the first two pieces of toast were done, Don went to the fridge to get some butter and jam to spread on the bread. April always made sure that the house was always stocked with non-perishables for just these occasions.

A delicious ache spread through his lower body as Don bent down to grab the butter off of the bottom shelf. There was something that just felt so right about being marked like this by Raph. They hadn’t been together a year yet but Don couldn’t even begin to imagine his life without Raph as his lover and mate anymore.

Once the first two pieces were buttered he put two more in the pan on the stove to toast. Just as he was about to flip them over to brown on the other side, a pair of strong muscular arms wrapped around him and pulled him back against a golden plastron. A cheek nuzzled against Don’s neck and their combined scent filled the air.

“Morning Donnie,” Raph sighed against his neck.

“Good morning Raph,” Don said as he turned off the burner to the stove and spun around in the hold around him. “I was going to make us some food and bring it back upstairs.”

Raph just hummed at Don’s explanation and tightened his arms slightly. “It just didn’t feel right waking up without you in my arms,” said Raph. “I guess I’ve just gotten so use to you being there that it felt strange to wake up with you gone.”

“You say that as though you haven’t spent most of your life sleeping and waking up by yourself,” Don teased. Reaching around, he put his hands on the back of Raph’s neck preventing him from moving away and rested their foreheads together.

Gently Raph pushed Don back so that he was now pressed snuggly between the now cool stove and his body. The slightly parted mouth beneath his own was too much of a temptation and Raph quickly claimed it with his own lips. After a minute he pulled back so that they could both catch their breaths.

“I seem to remember all four of us sleeping together when we were children,” Raph reminded a now somewhat dazed Donatello. “Even after we got our own rooms, Mikey would still sneak into Leo’s room and you would climb into my bed whenever you had a nightmare.”

“I always knew that you could scare the monsters away,” Don told him.

“And that’s what I always plan on doing Donnie-boy. You trust me right?” said Raph.

“Right,” Don agreed. “Now how about we finish up with my plan and take this food back upstairs. We’re going to need our energy to get through the day.”


	189. Dinner and a Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 7th - Wrong

Dinner was a bit of a special occasion that night. They had both worked together in the kitchen baking the chicken and roasting the potatoes to make a nice meal. When everything had finished cooking they headed into the living room to eat at the coffee table. It had been decided that tonight was the night for dinner and a movie.

Don set their plates onto the table and settled down on the floor in front of the couch. Raph went over and out in the movie that they were going to watch before joining Don. The movie was a copy of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour that he had brought with him from the lair.

Don snorted lightly as the opening credits appeared. “Of course you would pick that one,” he said. “I swear you always choose this movie at home because you know Leo can’t stand half of it.”

“Naw, I pick it because I like it,” said Raph as he popped a potato into his mouth. “The fact that Leo doesn’t like Larry the Cable Guy or Ron White is just a bonus. Besides, not liking them is just wrong by the way.”

“Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Don said defending their leader. “I may think it’s wrong for everyone not to see how absolutely incredible you are and love you the way I do but I’m also grateful for it because it means that I get you all to myself without a fight.”

This earned Don a sound kiss that almost made him forget how to breathe. Together they continued to eat their dinner in a companionable quite as they watched the movie. There were a few close calls when it came to choking on their food as they laughed at the movie even though they had seen it a million times before.

When they had finished eating and the movie had drawn to a close they both turned their attention towards each other to keep themselves entertained. Kisses started flying and gentle touches and caresses followed shortly after that. Before long Don was straddling Raph’s lap facing him. It almost felt wrong to being doing this so out in the open but was also more exciting.

Their bodies were heating up quickly and their erections had made an appearance. It seemed like no matter how often they were together they never tired of one another’s touch. Don deposited as many nips and licks to Raph’s neck and collarbone as he could. Emerald hands traveled down Don’s body and began circling the tight entrance that they found.

“I think we should move this to another location Don,” Raph said hoarsely as his dick began to throb from its pent up release.

“I don’t see anything wrong with where we are right now,” Don disagreed as he pushed back against Raph’s finger urging him on.

Raph pulled back from Don a bit in order to try and clear his head. “No,” he insisted. “We ain’t got nothing to use as lube and there’s no way that I’m going into you dry. I’m not gonna hurt you like that.”

Don just smirked and leaned forward against Raph and reached a hand under the couch cushion. Sitting back he pulled out a bottle a lube that he had placed there earlier that day for just such an outcome after dinner.

“Donnie-boy, you are an absolute genius,” Raph praised as he took the bottle and coated his fingers in the gel.

Raph’s hand returned to playing at Don’s opening and stretching it so that he would be able to fit. He also had some fun tweaking the wiggling tail while he was at it. This had Don panting and squirming on Raph’s lap, wordlessly begging for more.

“Raphie, pleeease,” Don panted. “I can’t take much more.”

Raph took that as his cue as he slammed himself up and into Don’s waiting body. His penis hit directly against Don’s prostate over and over again melting Don from the inside out. Shamelessly Don lifted himself up and down trying to fuck Raph even harder.

Being pressed together so tightly and the feel of moving against each other was intoxicating. It drove them each higher and higher towards their peaks before they couldn’t take it anymore. Don came seconds before Raph and coated their plastrons with his semen as Raph emptied himself inside Don’s body.

With chests heaving Don leaned into Raph and nuzzled his face against the emerald neck. He was content to just sit there for the time being with Raph still inside of him growing soft.

“Anything that feels that good should be illegal in at least five states,” Raph panted as he ran his hands up and down Don’s sides as they calmed down.

“Hmm,” Don hummed as he turned his head enough that Raph could hear him. “If this is wrong than I don’t want to be right.”


	190. Gone Fishing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 8th - Gasping

The day had dawned warm and sunny and overall beautiful. It was too nice of a day to stay indoors so Don and Raph decided to head over to the lake that was a few minutes walk into the woods. They planned on fishing for their dinner tonight and going for a swim in the sun warmed water.

As turtles, water was an important component for them to remain healthy. When they were children, before they had access to reliably clean water, it wasn’t uncommon for them to get minor colds all throughout the year.

Once Don was able to provide them with clean water, bath time became one of the most favorite times of the day. There was always a fight over who got the first bath so Master Splinter found a tub that was big enough that all four of them could fit in it at once. It was so big that two of them could still fit comfortably inside even fully grown as both Raph and Don knew intimately well.

As they walked towards the lake they carried with them fishing poles over their shoulders that they had found in the basement as well as some homemade bait. Raph was a few steps ahead of Don on the path which gave Don the perfect view of his well shaped ass and tail twitching from side to side.

A wicked grin spread across Don’s face as an idea popped into his head. Mikey must have been rubbing off on him considering the only problem with his idea that he could see was whether or not he could outrun Raph.

Don picked up his pace so he was just half a step behind Raph. Taking the handle of the fishing pole in his left hand Don grabbed the other end of the pole in his right, arching it back like a bow, and prepared to run.

Without any warning Don aimed the pole and released the thin end in his right hand. The end of the pole landed against Raph’s rump with a loud thwack and Raph’s yowl of surprise followed Don as he took off like a shot.

It took Raph a moment to realize what had happened but as soon as he did he took off running after Don determined to pay him back for his little stunt. By the time they both reached the lakeshore they were both gasping for breath from their hard run. Thinking along the same line, they both dropped their fishing gear in order to lighten their load as they ran.

Don may have had the early lead but Raph had years of practice chasing after a younger brother that had just played a prank on him and Don was no Mikey. He didn’t know quite how to twist and turn to throw Raph off and that was his eventual downfall.

With a jump Raph tackled Don to the ground and began tickling his sides. Don tried to pull away from those roaming hand but could do very little more than gasp for air helplessly. After a few minutes of torture Raph finally took pity on his mate and rolled to his side next to him in the sand.

“Next time don’t start something that you can’t finish Donnie-boy,” Raph warned.

Don reached around and squeezed the flesh that had come in contact with the end of his fishing pole. “Oh I can assure you Raph, I always finish whatever I start,” Don said lowly as his eyes filled with lust.


	191. Basking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 9th - Drowning

One of the best things about the farmhouse was the amount of land that it sat on. There were open fields that stretched for miles in every direction. The closest neighbor was an old retired couple that lived five miles away. This meant that Don and Raph could roam around outside in the sunshine without too much fear of being seen by any humans whenever they wanted to.

Both turtles fully intended on taking full advantage of this unique freedom. It was warm outside without being so humid that they felt like they were drowning in the very air. They sun was shining bright in the sky with only the occasional passing cloud which made it the perfect weather for basking.

Together they walked around for a little bit letting their turtle instincts take over as they looked for the perfect place to bask in the sun. They eventually came to a stop in the middle of a field about half a mile from the farm house. The grass was soft and the dirt was warm beneath their toes. It was the perfect spot.

They laid down on their plastrons side by side and linked their hands together, allowing the heat of the sun to sink into their shells. Being able to bask in direct sunlight was a huge luxury and had been a challenge when they were growing up. When Master Splinter realized that it was important to their health as turtles, he risked them going topside as often as they could as children. It hadn’t always been as often as they needed though.

One day he had brought home a giant UVB/UVA lamp home. Master Splinter had needed some minor help from his inventor of a son to get it working again but the time was worth it. It was hard work but now his sons could bask any time they wanted to.

As great as that lamp was, there was no replacing real sunlight. It felt amazing to both Raph and Don to have the grass tickling their sides while they drowned themselves in the heat of the sun. It caressed their skin and seemed down into their bones relaxing their entire bodies.

It would b so easy for them to fall asleep like this. The warm, the soft grass, and the presence of their lover all combined to lull them into this sense of security. Only their finely honed ninja instincts that had been built up over years of training kept them from drowning in the siren’s song and remain alert to their surroundings.

Just because they were alert didn’t mean that they couldn’t relax though. They were on a mini vacation and had no plans to worry if they didn’t have to. This meant that both Don and Raph had every intention of staying right where they were all day long or until they got hungry and had to head back to the house, whichever came first. As far as they were concerned, drowning in sunlight was the perfect way to spend the day.


	192. Washing Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 10th - Sink

Despite having come up to the farmhouse in order to spend some alone time together Raph and Don also needed some time to themselves. Even though they are a couple and love each other dearly, they also need to be able to function as individuals.

Don was in the downstairs bedroom that was always reserved for Master Splinter when they stayed here. The last time they had visited he had made a comment that the bed had felt wobbly and that he was afraid that it would collapse under him. Don had meant to take a look at it then but never got a chance to before they headed home to the lair.

With no other obligations getting in the way and plenty of time on his hands now was the perfect time for Don to take a look and see what was wrong. It had been a matter of minutes to strip the bed of its sheets and blankets and remove the mattress. The first thing Don did was check to make sure that the springs were still wound tightly so that they weren’t causing the wobbling feeling.

After finding nothing wrong with the springs, Don turned to the bed frame itself. Carefully he went over every spot where one section of the bed connected to another. During his inspection, Don came across a few loose bolts that held the flat part of the bed to the frame. A few quick turns of his socket wrench had them nice and tight again holding the bed sturdy once more.

While Don was working on the bed inside the house Raph was outside in the barn. As much as he liked to razz Leo about the annoyance of daily practice, Raph needed that outlet. Like Mikey, Raph also often ended up with an abundance of energy which he preferred to work out in the dojo.

Here at the farmhouse they didn’t have a dojo but he could make use of what they did have. In the barn there were a couple of old tarps that Raph pieced together and filled with hay to create a makeshift punching bag. He also used discarded farm equipment as crude weights to lift.

He had been working out for over an hour while Don worked inside and was now covered in sweat, dirt, and dust that was released every time he hit his bag. Dinner would be in about an hour and he wanted to wash all of the junk off of his body first.

Raph left the barn and walked over to the large sink that was located by the back door to the house. He had to wash up out there instead of going inside to take a shower. He and Don had broken a few tiles on the wall when they had been showering together last night. Now Don had to fix the tiles before they could use the shower again.

Using the hand pump Raph filled the sink up halfway and began lathering soap onto the washcloth that he had left there earlier for this purpose. With quick, efficient movements he washed the grime off of his arms, legs, and plastron. Reaching his shell was a bit more challenging though.

While Raph struggled, a pair of olive green hands reached around and picked up a scrub brush. Don lathered up the brush with the soap suds in the sink and brought it around behind Raph. Taking hold of the top of Raph’s carapace with one hand Don used his other hand to rub the brush over the scutes.

Raph moaned and leaned forward to grab the edge of the sink to keep himself upright as pleasure spiked through his body. “Donnie, you have amazing hands,” Raph groaned happily.

“I’m glad that you’re enjoying them,” teased Don. “How on Earth did you manage to get your shell so dirty?”

“I guess I’m just that talented,” responded Raph as he looked down at all of the dirt that was being washed off of his back.

Don threw the brush back into the sink when he was done, filled a bucket with fresh water, and dumped it over Raph’s head to rinse him off.

“Come on,” Don ordered. “Let’s get you dried off so you can come inside and help me with dinner.”

Raph reached his hand into the sink and pulled out the stopper so the water would drain out. “Right behind you Donnie-boy,” said Raph.


	193. In His Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 11th - Falling

The night was clear and the perfect weather for star gazing. Don and Raph had climbed onto the roof to get an unobstructed view of the sky. The shingles even still gave off some heat that they had absorbed during the day.  
Don carried a blanket with him and planned on carefully placing it over the shingles so that they wouldn’t get any splinters while sitting on them. As Don first stepped onto the roof his foot wobbled as a shingle came loosed and fell off of the edge.

“Whoa,” Don cried out as he waved his arms to regain his balance. “Watch out when you get up here Raph. Some of these shingles are very loose.”

“Okay,” Raph called back. “Just be sure that you don’t fall either Brainiac.”

Once they were both safely on the roof and the blanket had been laid down they settled down on top of it. Both were laying on their backs with Don using Raph’s shoulder as a pillow while Raph supported his head with his other arm.

“Think we’ll see any falling stars?” Raph asked the smaller turtle without taking his eyes off the sky.

“I don’t know,” answered Don softly. “It’s always a possibility. Since we’re out in the country we’d be more likely to see one than we are back in the city.”

Don shifted his weight to the right so that he could face Raph more directly. That ended up being a very bad decision. As soon as Don moved his weight, the loose shingles below him lost their grip on the rooftop and he began falling towards the edge. Don scrambled to try and grab hold of something to give him purchase but his hands kept slipping.

The genius turtle would have fallen off the roof altogether if not for Raph’s quick thinking. The moment Don started falling Raph pushed himself down closer to the edge of the roof. Just as Don was about to fall over the side Raph braced his feet against the storm drain and shot his hand out, wrapping it through Don’s belt.

Now that he was no longer in danger of falling, Don swung himself around and grabbed onto the storm drain with his hands. Raph made sure to keep a hold of his mate while he pulled himself back onto the roof.

“Better now?” Raph asked as he wrapped his arms tightly around Don almost afraid that he would fall again if he let go.

“Yeah,” Don responded as his heartbeat returned to normal. “Why don’t we go lay on the ground? I’m not that I want to take the chance of falling again.”

Raph chuckled as he slid them back up to the blanket. Leaning back, Raph supported his weight on his shell and drew Don in close in between his spread legs.

“What if I held you close to me and promised never to let go?” Raph whispered in Don’s ear.

“Well I suppose that if I’m in your arms than I couldn’t be safer,” Don said as he nuzzled his face into Raph’s neck.

Raph leaned his head down and nuzzled him back. “You got that right Donnie-boy.”


	194. Ninja Tag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 12th - Catch

“It’s our last day up here,” Don announced out of the blue while he and Raph were sitting together on the porch swing.

“Yeah, we’ve got to head back home tomorrow,” Raph agreed as he put his arm around Don’s shoulders and pulled him close.

Don sighed as he rested his head on Raph’s shoulder. “I guess that means no more sex on the couch and back to morning practice,” Don thought out loud.

“Yeah and you know that Fearless is going to be riding our asses the moment we get back about how much we were training while we were up here,” Raph complained. “And I don’t think he’s going to count having sex as a workout.”

“Well I have an idea on how we can fix that,” said Don as he trailed one hand up Raph’s thigh.

Raph shivered at the feelings that one touch caused. “What’s your idea?” Raph asked hoarsely.

Don just grinned for a moment due to the fact that he already had Raph hooked and he had barely done anything. “It’s a modified version of ninja tag,” Don explained. “I’ll run and you try to catch me. If you catch me in less than half an hour you win but if I manage to evade you, I win.”

“And what does the winner get?” Raph asked cautiously, sensing a trap.

Don changed the way that he was sitting so that he was now facing Raph with a hand on either side of his head trapping him there. He leaned in so that their mouths were barely an inch apart.

“The winner gets to do anything he wants with the loser,” Don whispered huskily before sealing his mouth over Raph’s in a soul searing kiss. “Time starts now.”

By the time Raph realized what was going on, Don was already half way across the yard and about to disappear into the woods. Don’s idea for the prize for the winner was too good of an offer to pass up so Raph gave chase immediately. He could think of plenty of things that he would love to do to that olive rump when he caught it.

Don led Raph on a merry chase through the woods. He leapt over rocks and kept from stumbling over roots, always staying just a bit ahead of his red banded mate.

Time was getting close to running out and Don had planned ahead in order to insure his victory. Without warning he turned sharply to the left with Raph just three steps behind him. With great care Don jumped over a vine that lay in the middle of his path but Raph didn’t bother to. That was his mistake.

The moment Raph’s foot brushed against that vine a whoosh sounded and he found himself hanging ten feet above the ground. Coarse fiber ropes that had obviously come from the barn now surrounded Raph keeping him from escaping and capturing him as Don’s prize.

“Donnie,” Raph yelled down to his mate who was just standing there smirking up at him. “Let me down from this right now. This is cheating.”

“Nothing in the rules ever stated that neither of us could set a trap for the other,” Don calmly disagreed pulling out his shell cell and looking at the time. “And you never once tried to add such a rule so it’s perfectly fair. By the way, time’s up so I win.”

Don walked over to where the rope was knotted and holding Raph up in the air and slowly lowered him down. When Raph’s knees touched the ground he still couldn’t get free due to the struggling that he had been doing when he was first caught which had only managed to tangle the ropes further.

As Don walked up behind Raph he paused for a moment to grab the lube that he had hidden under some leaves for safe keeping. Gently he pushed Raph forward so the he was now resting on his hands that were tangled up in front of him with his ass high in the air.

The rope was shifted over a bit so that Don now had a clear access to Raph’s tail and what was hidden beneath it. Raph gave a token struggle but couldn’t help a churr escaping as Don took his tail into his mouth with a wet slurp.

Don popped the top off of the lube and made quick work of prepping the bound turtle. He had been aroused since he first came up with this plan and wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep himself contained. He had already dropped down and was stroking himself with his free hand.

“Come on Don. Stop teasing,” Raph moaned as he wiggled trying to get the finger in deeper. “You won, so take your prize already.”

“Oh I’m going to take you alright,” said Don as he pulled his finger out thrust himself into Raph.

His thrusts were short but strong. He made sure to hit Raph’s prostate every time and soon Raph had dropped down into Don’s waiting hand. The combination of the coarse ropes against his skin along with the aggressiveness of Don’s behavior had Raph seeing stars in no time at all.

With a loud cry Don began emptying himself deep in Raph’s body. The feeling of his mate filling and marking him sent Raph over the edge as he came with a similar cry. When their orgasms subsided Raph collapsed onto his front with Don buckled down on top of him. When Don finally caught his breath he rolled off of Raph and began to untie him.

“See,” Don panted lightly. “Leo can’t complain that we didn’t train while we were up here after all.”

Raph just laughed as he stretched out his arms from their previously bent position and pulled Don close to him. It would be a while before they found the strength to get up and head back to the house but there was no hurry. They had all day.


	195. Going Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 13th - Open Arms

Packing up to head home was a bitter sweet experience. Raph and Don had both had a lot of fun during their weeklong vacation. They were going to miss being up at the farmhouse but it was time to head home. As much as they loved being up here they missed their family more and couldn’t wait to be welcomed back with open arms.

They had waited until late afternoon to pack the van and get out on the road. This meant that they would be out on the open country roads with no one around while it was light out and in the city after dark had fallen. They had called home in the morning to let their family know when to expect them and Master Splinter had approved of their plan.

The miles seemed to melt away as Don found himself back in the driver’s seat while Raph took the passenger side. Even though Don drove the van more often, Raph was still capable of driving it. He just didn’t want to today. Raph remembered his last experience on Friday the thirteenth this year in April and he didn’t really want to tempt fate today.

The time on the road seemed to both fly by and drag on at the same time. When they finally pulled into the garage it was with a sigh of relief and relaxation. It was nice to be home again. It didn’t take long to grab all of their belongings out of the Battle Shell and take the elevator back down to the main part of the lair.

It wasn’t more than thirty seconds after the doors to the elevator opened that Raph and Don were overrun with greetings. Mikey ran from the other end of the room with his arms open wide and nearly tackled Raph to the ground in a giant hug.

“Raphie!” Mikey yelled in his ear. “I missed you! Don’t ever leave for so long again. I was so bored with no one to prank. Sensei said that if I played a prank on him I would be doing back flips for a week and Leo threatened to hold out on nookie if I did anything to him.”

Raph finally managed to shove his younger brothers off of him and stand up straight again griping about younger brothers as he did so. Despite his grumbling he had a giant grin on his face.

“Yeah and you play any on me than I’ll do a whole lot worse than no nookie goofball,” Raph threatened. “You’ve already taught Don too many tricks as it is.”

Mikey’s head whipped around to face Don so fast he nearly got whiplash.

“Really?” Mikey exclaimed jumping over and grabbing onto his immediately older brother. “You have to tell me everything you did to Raph and how you got away from him. I have to know everything!”

Leo walked over and calmly extricated Don’s arm from Mikey’s grasp. “They just got home Mikey. Give them a minute to get settled before you start jumping all over them,” Leo chided gently.

“Welcome home my sons,” Master Splinter greeted as everyone started to calm down. “I hope you enjoyed your stay at the farmhouse. Why don’t you put your things away and join us in the kitchen. Dinner is ready and you can tell us all about your week while we eat.”

“Yes sensei,” Raph and Don said in unison as they picked up their bags.

As much as they loved having time alone together for just the two of them this is what they would always come home to. Their family meant more to them than anything in the world and they would always come back to them with open arms.


	196. Tasty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 14th - Wings

Don settled into his computer chair like he was welcoming back an old friend. His computer chair was the one that he and Raph had found together after they broke his old one and it molded to his unique shape perfectly making it a wonderful chair to sit in for hours on end when he was working.

As much as he had enjoyed his vacation with Raph it had also meant one week of work piling up on his desk. Raph was going through the lair doing some of the minor repair work that always seemed to crop up with four teenage boys living in one confined area.

Don’s priority at the moment was making sure that their security systems were all up to date and working properly. After a week without checking it he wanted to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. It wouldn’t do to have a human stumbling across their home just because he made a simple mistake when it came to their security.

He wanted to get as much done during the day that he could because he knew that tonight Leo would be pushing him and Raph hard during practice to make up for their week away. He would be lucky if he could walk the next day with whatever Leo probably had in mind.

Don had been working for a couple of hours when a delicious scent began to permeate into his lab. The smell made his mouth water and his stomach growl. Glancing at the clock told him that it was lunch time and that it was time to go and eat.

Following his nose took him into the kitchen where Mikey was dressed in his “Kiss the Cook” apron with his hands and forearms covered in flour and sauce. Leo and Raph were already seated at the table waiting for the food.

“Hey there Donnie,” Mikey greeted him as he walked in the door. “Lunch is almost done.”

Don went and took a seat next to Raph while Leo handed him a napkin. “What are we having that I need to have a napkin for?” Don asked. “I’m not the one that likes to play with my food and make a mess.”

“We’re having wings,” Mikey called happily as he pulled them out of the oven and brought them over to the table. “I saw a recipe for them on the Food Network the other day and I wanted to try them out. This one is your classic hot wings. These ones have a honey glaze on them. And these wings have been dipped in an Asian inspired sauce.”

Raph immediately went for the hot wings since they had always been his favorite. Hot wings, beer, and watching a game on tv with Casey were some of his favorite things but eating them with his family was also fun.

Don took a few of the honey glazed wings and one of the Asian ones to try. He would eat spicy food but he didn’t love it the way Raph did. As he started in on his own plate he couldn’t help but glance over at the mess that Raph was making as he ate his own wings. His fingers were covered in sauce and he had it smeared all around his mouth.

Maybe it was the week that they had just spent with just the two of them but Don couldn’t stop himself from acting on the idea that came to mind. Reaching over with one clean hand, Don used a finger to wipe away some of the sauce off of Raph’s face. Maintaining eye contact with his mate Don brought the finger to his mouth and licked the sauce off.

“Ummm,” Don hummed in approval. “Tasty.”

Raph gulped loudly and a blush took over his face as Mikey and Leo burst out laughing. It threw him a bit off his game to have Don acting this boldly. If he wanted to play this game though, he better be ready for Raph to play back.


	197. Pacifist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 15th - Angry

For most people Sunday is a day of rest. It was a day off of work where they could just play and relax to their heart’s content. It was not a day of rest for the seedy underbelly of New York City though. The criminals that lived there never took a day off. This means that Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey didn’t get a day off either.

They still patrolled the city in order to protect the innocent people that lived there. They had taken on that responsibility years ago and they weren’t about to slack off in it now. Together they travelled topside in search of criminals in order to stop them before they hurt anyone.

With the weather as nice as it was the streets were busy even after dark. This made it both easier and more difficult for criminals to attack innocent pedestrians. With so many people out and about they were able to blend in easier without being noticed. This also meant that there were more people around to witness any crimes that happened and potentially stop them.

Once the four had reached the rooftops they split into pairs in order to cover more ground. Tonight they planned on observing the patterns of movements along the sidewalks and stop criminals based on what they saw instead of actively looking for trouble. This put their ability to observe and react to the test.

Raph and Don had found themselves some deep shadows on a roof on top of a local ice cream parlor. There were a lot of people going in and out and travelling down the street. Leo wouldn’t be able to complain that they didn’t pick a challenging spot to look for any crime that might occur.

There was a group of teenagers standing just outside the ice cream store. They didn’t look overly threatening but looks could be deceiving. Together Don and Raph kept a close eye on them while still paying attention to everyone else using the street.

After a few minutes of sitting there a father with his daughter who was about six years old exited the shop each holding ice cream cones. As they made their way down the street the teenagers left the spot where they were standing and began following them.

This raised a red flag to Raph and Don and they followed along watching from above. As the father and daughter entered a section of roads that were less travelled the teenagers moved quickly. Without warning they grabbed the pair and dragged them into a deserted alleyway.

Don’s face darkened as he and Raph planned the best way to move in and end the situation. Despite the violence that they saw on a daily basis, he hated violence towards children the most. It never failed to raise his anger and he could lash out just as strongly as his hotheaded mate.

The moment one of the teens slapped the girl for crying Raph knew that their fate was sealed. His mate may be the pacifist of their family but he always acted with far more anger to those that attacked children.

There was a blur beside Raph. One minute Don was crouched next to him and the next he was doling out punishment to those below with his trusty bo staff. The fight was over before it really even began. The teens were either out cold or running scared before they even knew what was happening.

With a practiced jump, Don was back up on the roof without ever having been seen while the father comforted his daughter as they hurried home. Don glanced over at Raph and nodded once. The night was still young and there were still people to help.


	198. Adapt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 16th - Happiness

Practice had been difficult but very satisfying this morning. Running through familiar katas, stretching muscles, feeling the power and strength that their bodies possessed. It was always exhilarating to be able to push their bodies as far as they could without suffering the cuts and bruises that came with a fight against an enemy.

Even after practice was completed they didn’t want to leave each other’s company. They had been having fun as they sparred and wanted to continue on with this enjoyment throughout the day.

Right now they were all gathered together in the living room. Mikey was sitting in Leo’s lap on the couch as he played one of his Mario games. Leo had decided to sit out of this round of gaming. He still wanted to be close to his mate though and held Mikey close around his waist and nuzzled against his neck. Mikey had gone off the track twice already from being distracted by Leo.

Raph was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with the second controller and was playing the game as Luigi. He had a slight advantage over Mikey since Don had decided to just watch him and not distract him.

Don was laying on the floor next to Raph with his head resting slightly against Raph’s thigh. His body was stretch out in a relaxed position. Every time Raph glanced down at him Don had a smug smile on his face. If Raph didn’t know any better he would say that Don looked like they had just finished hours of making love in their room.

Don knew exactly what Raph was thinking as he drew random patterns along the thigh he was resting on. He wasn’t basking in the afterglow of sex but in the happiness of being with his family.

As far as he was concerned this right here was perfection. The happiness that came from being with his family was something that he treasured dearly.

Don remembered back to when Raph had first confessed his feelings to him. Don had been hesitant at first. He had been worried that even if he and Raph gave a relationship a try that it might not work out and it would disrupt their family. That was one thing that he was not willing to do.

He’d had to do some thinking about it but Don was happy that he had made the decision that he did. The relationship that he had with Raph and the one the Leo and Mikey had with each other hadn’t done any harm to their family. In fact it had made them all happier in the long run.

Looking up at the screen Don watched as Raph and Mikey vied for first place in their race. Some things had definitely changed in their family dynamics. They had each found a love that they had never thought that they would experience. The best part was that it didn’t take anything away from the relationship that they already had with their other brothers. They just adapted and Don couldn’t be happier.


	199. Dinner at April's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 17th - Delicate

Dinner was a fun event that night. April had invited them over to her apartment for dinner since she hadn’t seen them in a while and wanted to visit with them. She also wanted to try out a new recipe for beef stew and needed some willing guinea pigs to try it out on. Casey was away for the night visiting his mother so he wouldn’t be joining them.

The seating around the table was somewhat squished as there were more people present than it was used to accommodating. Even elbow to elbow it was still pleasant company however.

April scooped the stew into plastic bowls and handed them out. She knew from experience the trouble that the turtles could cause when it came to eating a meal and didn’t want to give them her delicate china. As soon as the bowls were placed in front of them they began to dig right in.

“I must apologize for my sons’ table manners,” Master Splinter told April. “I would like to say that I raised them better than this but apparently I did not.”

“It’s perfectly alright,” April assured him with a smile. “It’s not like I didn’t expect it.”

The rest of the meal was completed in relative quiet. April’s new attempt at beef stew had been a rousing success. No one wanted to take their spoons out of their mouths long enough to hold a conversation for any length of time.

They all sat back in contentment once the bowls were empty and everyone’s stomachs were full. April began clearing everything off of the table and taking it to the sink to be washed. Leo immediately jumped up to help her. His table manners might be as bad as his brothers’ but his regular manners were in no way lacking.

While Mikey went to help Leo with the dished April turned to Raph and Don. “I was wondering if I could recruit the two of you to lend me a hand downstairs,” April solicited. “I have some delicate statue wear and vases that need to be moved out of storage and into the front room. I have a buyer coming in to get them tomorrow and they’re too heavy for me to move by myself.”

“Sure,” Don agreed as he and Raph followed behind her into the storage room. “We’d be happy to help.”

April showed them over to the statue and two vases that needed to be moved. With as much care as they could manage Raph picked up the statue while Don grabbed one of the vases. April was already out in the main part of the store rearranging other items to make room. Raph set his statue down and went back for the other vase while Don assisted April in setting up the display.

“Hey April. Why didn’t you have Casey help you out with this before he went to visit his mom?” Raph asked as he brought in the final vase.

“These are very delicate pieces of artwork Raph,” April explained. “Casey has a knack for breaking the really valuable pieces and I had no intention of letting that happen.”

A loud crash sounded from upstairs along with the sound of Mikey’s shouts.

“That’s also why I didn’t ask Mikey for his help down here,” April finished with a grimace.

“Don’t worry April,” Don attempted to assure her. “We’ll help you fix anything that he breaks.”

“I say we just keep him on a leash,” Raph suggested as they headed over to the stairs. “That would solve the problem.”

Don and April chuckled as the three of them made their way back upstairs. “I’ll tell Leo you said that and see what he can do about it,” Don threw over his shoulder.

“That is way more information than I need to know,” April told them as they reentered the apartment to finish out the evening together.


	200. Origami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 18th - Boat

It was with a heavy sigh that Don entered the kitchen and flopped down in a seat at the table where Raph and Leo were already seated. Spreading his arms across the table top he planted his head down so that he was staring directly at the grains in the wood finishing.

Raph glanced up from the paper that he was working with and raised one eyebrow when he saw the position his lover had taken. “Something wrong Donnie-boy?” Raph questioned.

“I’m booooored,” Don groaned still face first on the table. “The security system is up to date. We’ve repaired and mailed all the current orders that we have for our business. The shell cycle and Battleshell are working fine. I’ve fixed everything in the lair that was broken and I have no current projects that I’m working on. I’m bored.”

“I could go and play with the toaster if you really need something to work on,” Leo teased.

Don’s head whipped up so fast when Leo said that it was almost a blur. “Don’t. You. Dare,” Don hissed. “I have fixed that thing a million times. I might just have to put it out of its misery the next time it ends up on my desk. If it breaks again today I am holding you personally responsible.”

Leo held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll just go and see what Mikey’s up too,” he said standing up. “I don’t want to be anywhere near that toaster. It will break just to spite me.”

“Here,” Raph said as he slid some paper over to Don. “Leo was teaching me some new origami shapes before you scared him away. You can do some too if you want.”

Don picked up and sheet and looked at it. It was perfectly square of course. Most origami started from a square piece of paper and Leo being Leo would have paper that he would have cut to be exactly the right shape. After a few attempts Don managed to fold a half decent crane. It was about the only thing he remembered how to fold without looking at any instructions.

An emerald hand entered Don’s line of vision, momentarily blocking his view of the cranes that he had made. When the hand moved it was to reveal a small origami boat made out of red paper. Don picked up the beautifully folded boat and examined it between his fingers.

“For me?” he asked Raph.

“Yeah. I remember how much you loved playing with toy boats when we were kids,” Raph explained. “You liked to test the flow of the water in the tunnels by building boats and floating them out there.”

“I also remember the time it almost got me killed,” Don said as he smiled ruthfully at the boat in his hands. “I got trapped underwater and Leo had to rescue me.”

Raph stood up from his chair and took Don’s hand to pull him up with him. “How about we go dig out those toy boats and head out into the tunnels,” Raph suggested. “I promise that if you fall in the water I’ll rescue you.”

Don punched him lightly in the arm for making fun of him. “Just let me put this in the shoebox of stuff that you gave me while you get the boats and I’ll meet you in the living room,” Don told Raph as he sped off to his lab.

With Raph to play with, he would never be bored for long.


	201. Quiet Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 19th - Scars

It wasn’t often that Don went to the junkyard alone these days. Most of the time now Raph offered to go with him but he was busy performing an extra practice with Master Splinter. Don had gotten up early this morning but Raph had stayed in bed and had fallen back to sleep making him late for morning practice. The private extra session was his punishment.

Don didn’t mind working by himself in the dump. It may mean that he might not be able to reach items at the bottom of a large pile as easily as he could with Raph but it also gave him some time to himself.

Going to the dump by himself gave him an opportunity to get out of a noisy lair and away from brothers that could get on his nerves at times. In the quiet of the night with nothing else distracting him, he could reason through any problem that he might be having with any experiment that he was running. It also gave him a chance to visit the Professor.

The Professor and the group of homeless people that he lived with were some of the few humans besides April and Casey that knew about the turtles. Whenever Don had a little extra of something that he thought they could use he would make sure to go and visit them to help them out.

With the weather as hot as it had been lately it was important that they remained hydrated since it was difficult for them to get out of the heat. Don was hoping to find something to help him make portable water purifying machines for them.

As Don sifted through a pile of junk that looked promising he got a tingling sensation along the back of his neck. Carefully he set down the piece of tubing that he had picked up. The quiet of the night also allowed for better detection of any enemies that might be trying to sneak up on him.

Don managed to pull his bo from his holster just in time to knock away the pipe that was flying at his head. A man with unkempt hair and tattered clothing came running out from behind some junk thirty feet away.

“This is my spot,” he yelled as he swung a jagged metal bar at Don. “Get out of here. I was here first. This is my spot. I need these things.”

Don was so startled by the presence of someone attacking him that wasn’t one of their normal enemies that he didn’t manage to defend himself in time to prevent an injury. The man was faster than Don had anticipated and he was also attacking to defend his territory, something that Don couldn’t say the same for.

Before Don was able to swing his bo around again to knock the man away from him the man had already struck. He swung the metal bar and landed a deep cut just above Don’s plastron over his heart.

Don decided that the pile of garbage wasn’t worth fighting over and that the angry man probably needed what could be found more than he did. Using his bo like a pole vault, Don jumped away from the man putting some breathing room in between them.

“Okay,” Don said trying to pacify him. “All of this is yours. I’m leaving.”

Don reached into his duffle bag to grab a bandage as he entered the sewers to head home. The cut was deep and it would need to be properly wrapped once he got back to his lab but the cloth he had with him would do for now.

When Don got back to the lair he had barely walked through the door before Raph was all over him about his wound after seeing the red stained cloth. Don wasn’t given much of a choice as Raph pulled him into his lab and pushed him onto the cot. As Raph began to work on the wound Don told him what had happened.

“This is probably going to scar,” Raph said with a frown as he began to disinfect the cut.

“Just one more I can add to my collection,” Don quipped trying to lighten the mood. “It’s not the first scar that I’ve ever gotten and I doubt that it will be my last.”

Raph sighed as he laid the last piece of adhesive tape to hold the bandage in place. “I know. I just hate it,” complained Raph as he placed a kiss over the bandage. “Every scar is another time that I failed to protect you.”

Don took Raph face between his hands and tipped it up so that he could look him in the eyes. “You have never once failed to protect me Raphael,” Don told him strongly. “I am a fully trained ninja just like you are. This means that I’m going to get hurt and I’m going to gather scars. It does not make you a bad brother or lover. I always feel safe when you’ve got my back.”

“Okay,” Raph conceded softly as he placed one final kiss over Don’s heart. “I’ll try not to blame myself if you promise to be more careful next time. That guy came way too close.”

“I promise,” Don told him sealing his vow with a kiss.


	202. New Project

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 20th - Eyelashes

Don looked around the kitchen curiously as he walked in to make his lunch and found no one else in there. He glanced down at his watch to check to make sure that it was really lunch time and that he wasn’t mistaken about the hour. Normally he was the one that forgot to eat.

As he put the frying pan on the stove to start heating up he saw that there were two plates in the sink indicating that at least two of his brothers had already found something to eat. He was willing to bet that it was most likely Mikey and Leo that had eaten and left already.

That meant that it was Raph that hadn’t eaten yet. Don smiled as he grabbed some extra bread and cheese to make Raph a sandwich. It would be a nice change of pace to be bringing him lunch instead of the other way around.

Don ate the first sandwich that he made as he began making the grilled cheese that he would take to Raph. While the sandwich heated Don took out his shell cell and activated the tracking device to find out where Raph was. A blinking red dot showed he was up in the garage.

When the sandwich finished cooking Don flipped it onto a plate and headed towards the elevator to take him up to the garage. As he walked through the living room Don saw Leo and Mikey curled up together on the couch taking an early afternoon nap in each other’s arms.

As Don stepped out of the elevator and into the garage he was immediately hit with the sound of music blasting and metal clanging around. Using the hand that wasn’t holding the plate Don turned the music down as he announced his presence to his mate.

As the music’s volume went down Raph’s head came up from where he was working. “Hey Don. What’s up?” Raph asked.

“Well it’s lunch time and I thought that I would bring you some food,” Don explained batting his nonexistent eyelashes. “After all, you’re always bringing me my meals when I forget to come eat. So what are you doing up here anyway?”

“Well I had been thinking about all the spare parts we have for my shell cycle and I was thinking that we could make one for you,” Raph said as he snagged the sandwich off of the plate. “What do you think about that?”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Don said as he blew some of the dust off of the pile of scrap parts that Raph had been going through.

Disturbing the dust turned out to be a bad idea. With the particles floating around in the air, a few of them found their way into Don’s eyes. Immediately he closed his eyelids as his eyes began to water to try and wash the dust out.

“You okay Donnie?” Raph asked.

“Yeah I’m okay,” Don said as he tried to wipe the dust out of the corner of his eyes. “This is just one of those times that I really wish we had eyelashes. They would have caught the dust and stopped it from getting into my eyes.”

Raph reached up a hand and batted Don’s away. Carefully he wiped the tears away and looked into Don’s eyes to make sure that he got everything.

“Can you see okay now?” questioned Raph.

“Perfectly,” Don whispered as he saw the concerned look on his mate’s face staring at him.


	203. Planning Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 21st - Smile

Saturday dawned bright and early with warm smiles and soft kisses shared between two lovers. It was a few hours after waking that Don and Raph were finally able to bring themselves to leave their bed and each other and go down stairs in order to try and find something to eat.

Mikey, Leo, and Master Splinter were just finishing up with their meal as they entered the kitchen to make their breakfast. After passing along pleasant morning greeting each group went along their way to carry on with their respective days.

After scavenging around in the cupboards for a few minutes Raph and Don finally decided on some cereal for their breakfast. It was quick and easy to make so they wouldn’t spend all day making and cleaning up after one meal. Raph also decided to add some strawberries into the mix for some diversity.

While Don poured the cereal into two bowls for them to eat Raph cut up the strawberries that were going with their breakfast. Raph smiled as he remembered how Don had tricked him into trying a blood orange for the first time. He decided that if it was a good enough trick for Don to play than it was good enough for himself to try.

Just as Don was opening the fridge to grab some milk Raph stalked over to him and spun him around. As they came face to face Raph locked his lips onto Don’s in a deep kiss. When they both needed to come up for air Raph slipped his tongue inside of Don’s mouth and slid the slice of strawberry in with it.

When Raph pulled away all Don could do for a moment was stare at him with a loopy smile on his face while he absentmindedly chewed on the piece of fruit.

“Tasty,” Don complimented. “I could get used to being fed like this if you aren’t careful.”

“I thought you might like to try some,” Raph said as he went back to slicing up the remaining pieces.

Don finished up with the cereal and took his seat over at the table. “So what do you have planned for the rest of the day Raph?” Don asked as he took his first bite already missing his mate’s mouth over his own.

“Well I was thinking that after breakfast we could head up to the garage together and keep working on your bike,” Raph thought out loud. “After all, we’re completely up to date with all of our orders and we have plenty of stuff already on our website so we aren’t in desperate need to add anything yet. Besides, I can’t wait until we can go out together on our bikes and speed through the city.”

Don couldn’t help the goofy smile that spread across his face at the look of pride that Raph had at having come up with this idea. It wasn’t the gesture of a new bike itself that made Don happy. It was more the thought that Raph had given to this idea and the fact that he wanted Don there beside him.

As Don continued to chew on his cereal he kept thinking about Raph’s plan. The only thing that Don had to worry about was Raph finding the spare parts that he had hidden away in the garage. It was still a few months until Raph’s birthday and there were still more pieces to gather but if Don’s idea went according to plan he would be hard pressed to keep up with Raph even after he had a bike of his own.


	204. Not Relaxed Anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 22nd - Frowning

When Raph had woken up this morning Don has been pressed tightly against him and one of his own legs had somehow found its way in between Don’s sometime during the night. One thing had led to another after Don had woken and now Raph was churring lowly as he lazily thrust into Don’s warm and willing body. There was no better way to start a Sunday morning as far as either one of them was concerned.

Don for his part was depositing quick kisses and soft bites to any part of Raph’s body that he could reach. He hadn’t minded in the least to being woken to strong caresses along the sides of his body and down the sensitive frontline of his plastron.

There was a time and a place for the fast and hard sessions that they both loved but soft and slow also had a time and a place. It gave them a chance to really explore their lover’s body and to find new erogenous zones that made the other just melt.

It was with soft cries of pleasure that they reached their peaks and collapsed into each other’s arms. The morning was still relatively early and there was nothing important that they had to get up for so they decided that this was as comfortable a place as any to lay down and take a rejuvenating nap.

It has been said that the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Just as they were starting to drift off into sleep a loud banging sounded throughout the room as someone knocked noisily and incessantly on their room door.  
Raph was so startled by the noise that he flipped off of the bed and hit his head against the side of the bedside table. The smile that had been a permanent feature on his face all morning was now being replaced with a frown.

Standing up, Raph stalked angrily over to the door and yanked it sharply open. “What?!” Raph snarled.

Mikey smiled widely at Raph’s frowning face when he opened the door. “I thought most people were happier and more relaxed after they got laid,” Mikey teased as he sniffed the air. “Apparently that doesn’t apply to you.”

“What. Do. You. Want.” Raph growled, his frown becoming more pronounced.

“Leo and I were thinking of going for a run in the sewers and he wanted to know if you guys wanted to come with us,” Mikey told him completely ignoring the darkening scowl that Raph was shooting his way.

Before Raph had a chance to respond and either yell at Mikey or punch him for disturbing them, Don intercepted. With a swift hand he grabbed the back of Raph’s shell and pulled him back into the room taking his place in the doorway.

“No we don’t want to go Mikey,” Don informed him with his voice just above a growl and a frown that almost matched Raph’s. “And you’re right. Most people are more relaxed after sex but that doesn’t always continue when they are rudely interrupted by annoying brothers.”

Before Mikey had a chance to respond Don closed the door firmly in his face and walked back over to the bed. Crawling under the covers again he reached out a hand to Raph for him to come back and join him. It didn’t take much convincing before the red banded turtle was curled up next to Don again.

“Let me take a look at your head,” ordered Don.

“It’s just a bump. No big deal,” Raph said waving off his injury.

“Still,” Don protested, “no more strenuous activity for the rest of the morning.”

Raph’s frown faded away into a wicked grin. “Is that your way of telling me that I’m done topping for the rest of morning and that it’s your turn?”

“Maybe,” Don churred as he brought his lips up to meet Raph’s.


	205. Lollipop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 23rd - Choking

With practice having finished for the day, Raph and Don had the rest of the day to themselves to do what they pleased. Right now they found themselves in Don’s lab looking over the original blueprints for Raph’s shell cycle in order to plan out the creation of Don’s.

While they did have plenty of spare parts that had been saved up for the times that Raph’s bike broke down, that didn’t mean they had everything they needed to make a whole new bike. They lacked a frame and full engine and other major pieces. They would need to go on a couple of junk yard runs in order to try and find the necessary components.

As they looked over the blueprints both Raph and Don each munched on some snacks that they brought with them. Raph had a small bag of chips that he was aimlessly eating from while Don was sucking on a cherry lollipop.

Don’s eyes scanned the papers in front of him trying to find any way that they could improve on the design. Raph on the other hand couldn’t seem to get his mind to focus on anything besides Don and that damn lollipop.

Don’s lips and tongue were slowly being dyed red from the cherry flavoring. The sound of the sucking that Don made as he worked his way towards the core and the appearance of his pink tongue as he licked up the juices that escaped from the outer layer were causing a tightening in Raph’s lower plastron.

Raph couldn’t believe that he was becoming jealous of a piece of candy. All he could think of was replacing that lollipop with his cock and ramming himself into Don’s mouth in order to seek relief from this sudden arousal.

The popping sound that Don made when he pulled the lollipop from his mouth was the tipping point for Raph. He could no longer keep his erection contained and dropped down into the open.

“Raph?” Don questioned at the sudden appearance of Raph’s dick. “You okay? What’s gotten you so worked up all of a sudden?”

“It was that damn lollipop,” Raph groaned. “Please Don. I need your help.”

Don grinned mischievously as he sank down to his knees in front of his mate. “We’re you jealous of a simple piece of candy Raphie?” Don teased before engulfing Raph’s erection in his mouth.

Carefully Don gave a playful lick along the tip of the dick in his mouth before bobbing his head down to take in more. Rubbing his hands against the inside of Raph’s thighs Don continued to move his head up and down, running his tongue over the underside of the cock in his mouth.

With one swift motion, Don took Raph’s entirety into his mouth and down into his throat causing Raph to let out a loud churr of approval. It was a snug fit, cutting off his airway, and caused a slight reaction with his gag reflex but Don managed to handle deepthroating Raph.

The snug fit in Don’s warm opening and the constant sensation of having Don swallow around him was Raph’s final undoing. With a load cry of Don’s name, Raph came down Don’s throat.

Once Raph had settled down Don pulled away, taking a refreshing breath as he did so. While Raph worked on catching his breath Don licked up the trails of semen that had escaped his mouth and trickled down Raph’s cock.

“Feeling better now?” Don asked with a smug smile.

“Much,” Raph panted.

“Good. Then maybe you could return the favor,” Don suggested as he sat back in his seat revealing his own proud erection.

Raph had never been one not to give as good as he got. Without hesitating he sank to his knees in front of Don. Wanting Don to feel the pleasure that he himself had just a few minutes ago, Raph tried to go right for the kill and deepthroat Don right away.

This proved to be a mistake as he began choking as soon as Don’s cock touched the back of his throat. He didn’t have the practice at giving a blowjob the same way that Don did as Don had more often been the giver in that respect of their relationship.

Don tried to grab hold of Raph’s head and pull him back but Raph was determined to get it right. Trying again provided him with the same result of a blocked airway and his body instinctively began choking to try and dislodge the foreign object that was preventing him from breathing.

As much as Don hated to admit it, the feeling of Raph’s throat convulsing around his dick as he choked was an incredible sensation that was pushing his closer and closer to his peak. As Raph tried and failed for a third time to take Don all the way into his throat Don couldn’t hold back his orgasm anymore and released himself into Raph’s mouth.

Raph, though unprepared, was able to swallow almost all of what Don had to give him without any problem. Some of Don’s semen did escape his mouth and dribble down his neck but he just used his fingers to scoop it up and bring it to his mouth.

“I guess I need a little more practice at that,” Raph said sheepishly.

“Oh don’t worry,” Don replied, slipping down next to Raph on the floor. “I’m sure that we can find the time to give you all the practice you could want.”


	206. In Sickness and In Health

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 24th - Doctor

The blowjobs that had been traded in the lab yesterday hadn’t been the end of Don and Raph’s exploration of each other’s most intimate areas. They had also stayed up well into the night making love and as such were quite groggy when they woke up this morning. With that grogginess came slower reaction times during practice.

They were performing grappling exercises in the dojo under Master Splinter’s supervision. If for some reason they lost their weapons and had to fight hand to hand he wanted them to be able to take out their opponent without putting themselves in too much danger.

Raph and Mikey had been the first pair to spar with Raph managing to pin Mikey after he was finally able to catch him and wrangle him to the floor. Don and Leo had been the next battle with Leo coming out victorious. Don and Mikey faced off next. Don managed to get Mikey in a headlock pretty quickly. He had learned a few tricks from Raph over the months about how to handle his youngest brother.

Now Leo and Raph were about to go at it. Mikey and Don were sitting on the sidelines both eagerly hoping that their mate would be the winner but also slightly worried that they might get out of hand. Master Splinter on the other hand looked very calm as Leo and Raph began their spar.

Raph was the first to move with a hard punch to Leo’s face which Leo was prepared for and countered easily. The punch was just a distraction however so Raph could hook his ankle behind Leo’s knee and knock him to the ground. Don wasn’t the only one that had been learning tricks from his mate.

Once Leo was on the ground Raph tried to tackle him and use his superior physical strength to pin Leo and win the bout. Leo however knew better than to let Raph get a good grip on him or it would all be over. Instead he used his leaner muscles to his advantage.

Quickly Leo planted his right foot on the floor to give him leverage and brought up his left knee to try and keep Raph a short distance away from him. Taking Raph’s left wrist into his right hand, Leo twisted his left arm across his body and behind Raph’s neck.

This allowed Leo to slide out from underneath his heavier brother and put him on the floor, plastron first. Using his knees, Leo pinned Raph’s legs so that he couldn’t kick back and knock him off balance again. Leo wasn’t about to let Raph wiggle out of his hold and brought Raph’s left up and around behind his shell so that if he pulled too hard he might dislocate his shoulder.

“Do you yield Raph?” Leo asked with only the slightest hint of a smirk in his voice.

After struggling for a moment and finding no way out of his predicament Raph sighed and settled down. He knew that there wasn’t anywhere for him to move to get away.

“Fine, I yield,” Raph grunted.

As Leo got up he offered a hand down to Raph to help him up. After a second’s hesitation Raph accepted and allowed Leo to pull him to his feet. Together they walked over to where their brothers were standing and turned to face their sensei.

“Very good my sons,” Master Splinter said with pride. “Michelangelo, you rely far too much on your natural speed. You must improve your ability to grapple should you ever become caught by an enemy without you weapons. Practice in finished for the day. You are all dismissed.”

As everyone else exited the dojo Raph stood there for a minute rolling his shoulder trying to dispel some of the discomfort from having it twisted by Leo. It didn’t hurt; it was more like the muscles had knotted while in that position.

“You okay Raph?” Don asked. “You didn’t get hurt did you?”

“Naw. My shoulder’s just a little sore. Nothing I can’t deal with,” Raph assured Don waving off his concern.

Don wasn’t entirely convinced however. “Why don’t you come to my lab and let me take a look at it? I am supposed to be the doctor in this family remember,” Don said trying to coax him.

“Don, I ain’t an invalid,” Raph grumbled lightly.

“I know that Raph and I’m not saying that you are,” Don tried to explain. “I just want to be sure for my own sake. And if you let me take a look at you without complaining, I promise to give you a more thorough examination afterwards.”

Raph’s eyes lit up at the implication. “Well than, what are we waiting for? Lead the way Doctor.” Raph said as he eagerly followed Don out of the dojo and towards the waiting cot in his lab.


	207. Sound of the City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 25th - Police

Don’s eyes were troubled as he glanced at the digital clock on the tv set. Raph had gone out for a run topside and hadn’t returned yet. He had said that it would only be a quick run which for Raph usually meant about an hour. It was now starting to verge on two and he still wasn’t home yet and hadn’t called.

It wasn’t that Don didn’t trust Raph to take care of himself, it was more that trouble seemed to have a way of finding him at the worst possible moment. The possibility of Raph fighting for his life, by himself, unable to reach his phone to call for backup flashed through Don’s mind.

After telling Master Splinter where he was going Don grabbed his bo and his duffle bag and headed topside. He knew that he was most likely worrying over nothing. Raph was always going topside and always managed to come back in one piece. He may have some scrapes and bruises but he was never missing anything vital.

Using his shell cell, Don tracked Raph to a high rooftop overlooking the city. Using the fire escape to make his way to the top, Don looked around the roof for any sign of a previous fight. Instead he saw Raph calmly sitting on the edge of the roof with his feet dangling over the side looking out over the city skyline.

With a sigh of relief and a grin at his own foolishness Don quietly walked up to where Raph was and took a seat next to him. Raph’s only acknowledgment of the new presence next to him was to cover Don’s hand with his own as he continued to stare out at the city.

From where they were sitting they could see miles in any direction. This was truly the city that never sleeps. People were still rushing about and the lights were still on in many restaurants and stores. The individual lights faded together at a distance to cast a soft glow over the buildings, blocking out the stars from above.

Down below they could hear the wail of police sirens as the officers responded to the calls of people in need. It was a little strange to hear those sirens and not have it be because they had just rounded up some gang members to be charted off to jail. It was kind of nice not to have to immediately hide the moment the police got there either.

This was their home and these were the sights and sounds that it made. They may not be able to walk around freely like the humans did but it was their home none the less and they would protect it.

“I can see why you like sitting up here,” Don said finally breaking the silence. “The view is beautiful.”

“It’s one of my favorite spots in the city,” Raph confessed. “When we aren’t out helping the police round up the scumbags I like to come up here and look over my city. It makes me feel more of a part of it you know.”

“Yeah,” Don agreed.

Now that his worries had been put to rest and he knew that his mate was safe, Don was willing to relax and take in the view. There was nowhere else Don would rather be than listening to the sounds the city made while sitting next to his lover.


	208. Finding His Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 26th - Strength

Raph couldn’t help but smile brightly as he looked at the new shell cycle that was slowly coming together. It was taking a lot of time, work, and more than a little elbow grease but it was finally starting to take shape. It was just now beginning to look like an actual bike and not just an ugly pile of scrap metal.

Don was currently down in the lair fixing them some lunch to bring up so they wouldn’t be starving by dinner time. Mikey planned on ordering pizza for dinner and both Don and Raph knew how their youngest brother was when it came to eating pizza. They’d be lucky to get two slices before Mikey devoured it all.

They still had a little ways to go on the bike but they were getting there. Last night on the way home Raph and Don had stopped by a junk yard that was on the way. They had completely lucked out and found an engine that was just missing a few parts that were easily scavenged.

It never failed to amaze Raph the things that Don was able to find in the dump and repurpose to fit their needs at home. Don never failed at coming up with a solution to even the toughest problems that they faced. With his bag a tricks and pigeon puppet he could do just about anything.

Raph chuckled lightly as he grabbed a wrench and went over to the bike to continue working. He remembered back when they were just little kids just beginning to learn ninjitsu. Don had been so afraid that he would fall behind and that he would never be as strong as his brothers.

At first Raph had no idea that Don had felt that way. It wasn’t until he had gotten up late one night to get a drink of water and stumbled upon Don crying in the dojo that he had any idea as to how Donnie had felt.

It had taken some coaxing but eventually Don had spilled everything that was bothering him. According to Don, all of his brothers were so strong that nothing could stop them and that he was the weakest out of the four of them.

If Raph hadn’t been trying to comfort his clearly upset and crying brother he might have agreed with Don at that point in time. Leo was undoubtedly the best at ninjitsu. He had already mastered all of the katas that they had been taught so far.

Mikey had a natural athleticism that gave him a strength and stamina in the dojo that his brothers couldn’t hope to match. Raph was easily the physically strongest out of the four. The problem was he didn’t know where that left Donnie.

Raph couldn’t remember what he had said to sooth Don and send him back to bed but whatever it was, it had worked for the time. It wasn’t until a few years later that he really came to realize just where exactly Don’s strength lay.

The winter had been colder than usual and the tiny space heater that Master Splinter had found just wasn’t cutting it. All four of them had been curled up together in a tight ball trying to keep warm when the heater finally gave out. Don had crawled out from the covering and got it going better than ever.

That was when Don really started coming in to his own strength. It wasn’t just his intelligence but his ability to adapt to any situation and change things for the better.

As the elevator doors open Raph’s mind came back to the present as he sat up and looked over to where his mate was. It never ceased to amaze Raph what a kind and caring person that Don was. He never looked down on anyone and he always took the time to lend a helping hand. In a way, that made him stronger than all of his brothers.


	209. Question of Stamina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 27th - Spell

Raph felt his eyes being drawn towards the closed door of Don’s lab. Don had woken up early that morning muttering something about a dream he’d had and whether he could make it work or not. Raph wasn’t quite sure what Don had been talking about but what he did know was that as soon as practice had finished Don had disappeared inside his lab and closed the door.

The door had been firmly closed with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hanging on the doorknob. His brothers knew from experience that when that sign came out than they needed to leave Don alone or take great care if they had to bother him. He only hung that sign when he was working with something dangerous that needed to be handled carefully.

It was getting to the point where Raph was strongly considering carefully going into the lab and pulling Don out of there. He had skipped both breakfast and lunch and Raph wasn’t planning on having Don skip dinner as well.

Cautiously Raph approached the door that was separating him from his mate as though he were almost afraid that it would blow up if he touched it too hard. Raph knocked softly on the door once and than a second time to try and let Don know that someone was coming in without startling him and causing him to accidently spill something dangerous.

When Raph opened the door it was to the sight of Don sitting at his desk looking over some notes while something bubbled away over his Bunsen burner. The thing that really caught Raph attention was the mask that Don was wearing over his mouth and nose and the three identical looking masks sitting just inside the door.

Without hesitation, Raph grabbed one of the masks and tied it around his own mouth and nose. He knew from experience that Don always set out precautions on the off chance that his brothers didn’t pay attention to the sign outside the lab and he wasn’t about to not follow any of those precautions.

“Morning Raph,” Don said without looking up from his notes.

“Morning? Don it’s almost dinner time,” Raph said incredulously. “You’ve been in here all day. What could you have possibly been working on all this time?”

Raph’s words caught Don’s attention and he looked over at the clock on his desk. “I guess I didn’t realize how long I’d been in here,” Don replied. “I just had this dream last night that gave me an idea for an experiment. I’m not even sure if it will really work though.”

“So spill,” Raph demanded as he took the seat over at his corner of the desk. “I may not always understand everything you’re saying but maybe saying it out loud will help you work through it.”

“Well I had this strange dream last night,” Don began. “I only remember bits and pieces of it. The thing I remember the most though was that I came up with some kind of spell so that you would always love me. One of the side effects of the spell however was that we made love all of the time. Not that I really minded.”

“So it wasn’t all that different from real life,” Raph joked. “I know I’m always going to love you, and that sounds pretty close to our sex life right now. I just don’t see where your experiment comes into play.”

“I do love our sex life the way it is,” Don assured him. “This is more out of curiosity than anything else. What I’m currently working on is a test of the effect of scent pheromones on stamina.”

Raph slid his chair closer to Don’s and let one hand glide along the inside of his thigh. “So three times in a row ain’t long enough for you Donnie-boy,” Raph asked in a low voice. “You gotta come up with some kind of potion to put a spell on me to make me last even longer?”

Don couldn’t help but shiver at Raph’s touch. Just as he was leaning to steal a kiss through their masks Raph pulled away and stood up.

“Let’s go eat dinner Brainiac,” Raph said with a smirk that couldn’t quiet be hidden by the mask on his face. “We can always continue this conversation later tonight in the bedroom where I can show you just how much stamina I’ve got.”


	210. Helping a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 28th - Protection

The boys had been out on their patrol of the city for half an hour now and so far they hadn’t seen anything noteworthy. The night was quiet but it didn’t bring them any comfort. It was the quiet of anticipation. Something was getting ready to happen and it probably wouldn’t be pleasant.

Don and Raph had split up from Leo and Mikey in the hopes that if something bad were to happen in the city, they could cover more ground in pairs. The buzzing sound of Raph’s shell cell brought him suddenly out of his examination of the streets below. Taking the phone from his belt Raph looked down to see Casey’s name flashing across the screen.

“What’s up Bonehead?” Raph asked as he answered the phone.

_“Hi to you too Raph,” Casey replied dryly. “I was gonna invite you to a skull bashin’ party but now I’m starting to reconsider the offer.”_

“There’s no need to be hasty now,” Raph told his friend. “You know that’s one invitation that I never turn down. Now what’s up?”

_“I’m over in Chinatown right now,” Casey said cutting to the chase. “There’s a group of Purple Dragons going around to the shops demanding protection money. I intend to show them that those stores are already protected. You wanna join?”_

“I’ll be there in a few,” Raph said before hanging up the phone and turning to his brother. “Casey needs some help with some Purple Dragons trying to get protection money from some stores downtown. You want to come bust some skulls with us?”

“Busting skulls may not be my favorite pastime but I’m not just going to sit by while other people are getting hurt,” Don said as he followed behind Raph as they ran to meet up with their friend. “What are we waiting for? Lead the way.”

It only took a few minutes for Raph and Don to make their way to Chinatown and find out which rooftop Casey was waiting on. His posture was rigid as he leaned over the side of the roof to get a better look at what was happening down on the street.

Casey’s usually jovial face had morphed into a dark scowl as he watched the Purple Dragons enter a nearby store together. He didn’t like any of the Purple Dragons to begin with but he had a special hatred for those that ran the protection scams on innocent businesses that were just trying to get by in the world.

Raph remembered Casey telling him how his father had been killed trying to protect his store after he refused to pay protection money to the Purple Dragons. He knew that it was something that played a big role in who Casey was today and he wasn’t about to let his friend take on the thugs alone.

Don joined Casey at the edge of the roof. He may not have the burning passion against gangs seeking protection money like Casey did but he wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines while other people were getting hurt. He also wasn’t about to let his lover and one of his friends go into battle without being there to back them up. Those Purple Dragons hadn’t been looking for a fight when they went out this evening but they were about to get one.


	211. Aphrodisiac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 29th - Antidote

It was with a soft sigh of contentment that Raph slid into bed tonight. The sheets were cool and crisp but that wouldn’t last long. Don claimed to have finished the experiment that he started two days ago to create an aphrodisiac.

Don had come to him earlier that day asking if he minded if they tried out the aphrodisiac that night when they went to bed. Raph had agreed without a second of hesitation. The way he figured, even if the aphrodisiac didn’t work, the night would still be filled with hot sex with his mate. That was something that he didn’t have a problem with at all. In fact, he was already feeling aroused just from the anticipation.

As the doorknob started to turn Raph sat up a bit so that he was leaning back on his elbows. He also flung the covers off and spread his legs invitingly. Raph wanted Don to have the best view possible when he walked into their room.

When Don opened the door and saw what was waiting for him on the bed he nearly dropped the beaker that he was carrying. His mouth suddenly felt dry and it seemed like all of the blood in his head had rushed south to fill a different head.

“If you keep up that display we may not get around to trying out the aphrodisiac that I’ve worked so hard on,” Don said once some moisture had returned to his mouth and he closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room.

“Come over here Brainiac and I’ll show you the hard on that I’ve been working on,” Raph leered playfully.

Don sauntered across the room and slid into Raph’s lap while his mate’s arms twisted around him. “Just let me set this down,” Don requested as he put the open beaker on the bedside table.

Raph didn’t waste any time in attaching his mouth to Don’s neck and suckling at his pulse point. There was a musky scent coming from the beaker. He wasn’t sure if it was what was in the beaker or the nearness of Don that was driving his wild but he didn’t really care as he flipped them over and settled between Don’s easily spreading legs.

Running his hand down the frontline of Don’s plastron, Raph barely touched his slit before Don’s erection made an appearance and was gathered into Raph’s hand. Raph’s dick wasted no time in following suit and slid out to tap against Don’s well lubed entrance.

“I thought I should prep before we started just in case we got too carried away,” Don explained as he pushed up trying to get Raph inside of him.

With a wicked grin Raph shoved his full length inside Don’s and hit his prostate dead on. The tight feeling of Don’s inner walls clenching around him drove Raph crazy. His thrusts quickly turned erratic while his hand tried to keep up in jerking Don off. It wasn’t long before being aroused for most of the evening caught up with them as they both quickly reached their peaks.

Raph pulled out of Don’s body as they both worked on catching their breaths. The aphrodisiac must have been having an effect because they both began to feel their erections coming back to life. A thought entered Raph mind about what he wanted to try next.

Maintaining eye contact with Don, Raph slid down his body until Don’s cock was bobbing in front of his face. Now was the perfect time to practice deepthroating his mate.

Carefully Raph slipped his lips around the tip of Don’s cock and slowly started taking the length into his mouth. When it reached the back of his throat he gagged for a moment before relaxing his throat and allowing it farther in. After a few tries he got it all of the way in.

As Raph took the full length of him into his mouth and throat Don reached up to grip the headboard in a death grip. He knew that Raph was still struggling a bit to deepthroat him and he didn’t want to make it worse by grabbing his head and shoving in down to get farther into that warm mouth.

While he worked on swallowing around the dick in his mouth Raph reached down to jerk off his own erection. The combination of sensations proved too much for the couple and they were both soon peaking for the second time that night.

This didn’t slow either of the down as Raph moved back up the bed to capture Don’s mouth in a deep kiss letting him taste himself on Raph’s lips. The passion of the kiss coupled with the aphrodisiac still working its way through their systems brought them both back to hardened arousal again.

Don decided that this time he was calling the shots. With a forceful shove he pushed Raph onto his back and straddled him. Carefully his lined himself up with Raph’s penis and slid back taking it all in again. While Raph rested his hands on Don’s waist, Don set the pace as he rode Raph fast and hard.

The sight of Don bouncing up and down on his dick and the feeling of him clenching around him was too much for Raph as he exploded inside his lover. The feeling of his lover emptying himself inside of him pushed Don over the edge as he came all over their plastrons.

Exhaustion was starting to set in. Don merely laid down on top of Raph with his cock still buried inside of him. Raph simply pet Don along the back of his shell as he tried to let his heart rate and breathing return to normal. The only problem with their plan of falling asleep like this was that their erections were starting to twitch back to life again.

“Donnie,” Raph moaned tiredly. “What did you put in that stuff?”

“It was just some chemical stimulant enhancers combined with our own unique pheromones,” Don groaned as he shifted so his dick wouldn’t be crushed between their bodies.

“Well didn’t you think to come up with an antidote?” Raph asked. “I don’t think I can go another round but my dick seems to disagree with me.”

“I didn’t think I’d have to,” Don admitted sheepishly. “I thought it would wear off naturally.”

“Yeah well it isn’t wearing off. I think it’s time for a cold shower Brainiac,” Raph said as he sat up and got out of bed. “Next time, think you experiments through a bit more before the testing phase.”

Don merely nodded as he followed behind Raph to the bathroom. He sincerely hoped that no one would be up this late. It would be very embarrassing to explain what had happened.


	212. Leo's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 30th - Guardian

As the soft melody of a piano echoed through the bedroom, two nearly identical groans joined in. Raph’s arms tightened around Don bringing him further into his embrace while Don buried his face in Raph’s neck.

It had taken a while for the aphrodisiac to wear off enough to allow them to fall asleep last night. That was only a few hours ago and they were still tired.

They had to get up though. They had morning practice and today was Leo’s birthday so Raph, Don, and Mikey tried not to give him too hard a time about training. Raph tried not to give him too hard a time about anything.

Leo was their guardian as well as their leader. He cared deeply about ninjitsu and the role that it played in their lives to keep all of them safe. The best way that they could show their guardian just how much they appreciated what he did for them was to give it their all during training.

Don and Raph may have been tired when they stumbled into the dojo but the smile on Leo’s face when he saw that he wouldn’t have to pull them out of bed was worth it. Practice was tough but they gave it their best effort. Knowing that Mikey would be making an amazing breakfast afterwards was definitely an encouragement to get through practice without any mistakes.

By the time practice had ended and all five of them made their way to the kitchen for breakfast, Raph and Don were more awake then when their alarm had first gone off and were quite ready to dig into their food. Don also enjoyed his seat on Rap’s lap as they grabbed their plates and sat down.

Mikey had a huge selection of fresh fruit, oatmeal, coffee, and tea set out on the table. Leo enjoyed more healthy options for his meals and Mikey was going to oblige him since it was his birthday. Sitting on top of the table along with the food were the presents that everyone had gotten for Leo.

Master Splinter was the first to hand his gift to Leo. When Leo pulled the top off of the box it revealed a short blade nestled on some soft cloth inside.

“It is a tanto that Yoshi brought with him when he moved here from Japan,” Master Splinter explained as Leo picked up the blade. “I feel that he would want you to have it as you will treasure it.”

“Thank you sensei,” Leo said with feeling as he bowed low to his father for the amazing gift.

Don and Raph had put their gifts together in the same bag to save on wrapping. The first thing that Leo pulled out of the bag was two candles dyed blue and orange respectively. The second was a bottle with a non descriptive label.

“The wicks burn brightly,” Don said with a smug smile. “And the wax is very easy to peal if you spill it on something.”

“The bottle is something that I thought you could use to polish your sword with,” Raph told Leo with a suggestive grin. “Mikey could probably give you a hand with that too if you wanted.”

Leo couldn’t help the slight blush that painted his face at his brothers’ innuendos. Both Raph and Don jumped a bit when they felt a foot kick them underneath the table as Mikey shot them a glare telling them to behave and stop picking on his mate.

“Here’s my gift,” Mikey said excitedly as he drew Leo’s attention away from Raph and Don and toward the box in his hands.

When Leo opened the box he pulled out a small, thin paper book that had obviously been wrapped with love. As he flipped through it he saw images of himself and Mikey throughout the pages that had been drawn with an expert hand.

“It’s a comic of our life together,” explained Mikey.

Leo couldn’t stop the small tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. “Thank you so much Mikey,” he whispered. “This is amazing. I’ll always treasure it.”

Don and Raph couldn’t help but smile as Leo gave Mikey a gentle kiss as a thank you for the gift that he had just received. They were happy that their brothers got to experience the love and affection that they felt every day. Their sometimes overprotective guardian and baby brother both deserved it.


	213. Bad Mood Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> July 31st - Cigarette

Practice was quite amusing for Raph and Don that morning. Being able to get a full night of sleep did wonders for their capacity to concentrate and perform to their best ability.

Leo and Mikey couldn’t say the same however. Mikey had insisted on trying out the gifts that Leo had received yesterday for his birthday. As a result, it had kept them up very late and they had gotten little sleep. Leo could still work well in those circumstances but the lack of sleep was really taking its toll on Mikey.

Leo, Raph, and Don were all able to defeat Mikey during their individual sparring matches. Normally he would just brush off his defeats and move on, promising to do better next time. This time however the losses on top of the lack of sleep put Mikey in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

By the end of the day Mikey’s bad mood was getting on everyone’s nerves. His current fixation was the fact that he wanted rocky road ice cream and they only had strawberry. After listening to his whining for ten minutes, Don and Raph had enough.

With a silent glance at each other they put on their human disguises and helmets for Raph’s bike. They were going topside to get Mikey the ice cream that he wanted and hoped that it would be enough to calm him down and turn him back into the bouncing little brother that drove them crazy in a good way.

The trip to the corner store was quick and easy. They were in and out with the ice cream in mere minutes. The trip back to the lair wasn’t nearly as pleasant. The traffic was backed up and they spent a considerable amount of time just sitting on an idling bike.

The extra time wasn’t the biggest problem that they faced. The biggest problem was that it seemed like every street corner they had to stop at was crowded with people smoking cigarettes. The smoke drifted through the air and was all but impossible to escape.

As ninjas it was important for them to stay in top physical shape. That did not include smoking cigarettes and breathing in their smoke. Evening driving away didn’t offer any relief. The smell had gotten into their clothing and surrounded the air around them.

Even when they got back to the lair and were depositing the ice cream into the freezer the smell of cigarettes clung to them. This was a fact that Mikey felt the need to point out as he came into the kitchen to get the ice cream that his brothers had brought him.

“You guys stink,” Mikey complained as he plugged his nose and waved at the air in front of his face.

“I am aware of that Michelangelo,” Don growled as he set his bag down on the counter. “I was there when Raph and I had to drive past those guys that were smoking and the smell has permeated our cloths. I am now going to go and take a shower. Enjoy your ice cream.”

As Don started walking towards the bathroom Raph followed just a step behind. Neither of them could stand the smell of cigarette smoke and wanted it off of their skin as fast as possible. Sharing a shower was the easiest way to accomplish this as well as providing them with more time to enjoy each other’s company. They hoped that it would bring a better end to the day than it had been so far.


	214. Seeing vs Believing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 1st - God

It was with more than a little trepidation that Raph and Don pulled themselves out of bed to get ready for practice today. If Mikey wasn’t in a better mood today than he was yesterday they might just have to kill him instead of pinning him to the floor.

It ended up that they didn’t have anything to worry about. After a good night’s sleep Mikey was back to his normal bouncing self. While Leo was still able to beat him in their spar, Mikey came out victorious against Raph after dodging around the room and teasing him until Raph lost his temper and eventually the match.

Mikey walked around the dojo with his arms in the air crowing over his victory. Even Master Splinter’s reminder about the virtues of humility did little to curb Mikey’s enthusiasm. As annoying as the bragging could be, Raph still considered it better than the moodiness and whining from yesterday.

“Thank God for small miracles,” said Raph as he took a seat on the couch.

“That’s such an odd saying,” Don commented as he joined Raph. He was tired from practice and in a mood to talk about anything that came to mind. “Mikey being happy was more of an inevitability than a miracle and it’s highly unlikely that some omnipotent being orchestrated it.”

“Huh,” Raph grunted not one hundred percent sure what Don was trying to tell him.

Don shifted where he was sitting until he was pressed up against Raph’s side. “I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t think there is such a thing as God,” Don admitted.

Raph sat there and let that sink in for a minute. He had never really considered himself religious but had always gone along with the assumption that there was something greater out there. He had also assumed that his brothers shared those opinions. Hearing that Don didn’t was strange to him and he said so.

“I don’t see how it’s that surprising that I don’t believe in God,” Don teased. “I’ve always been someone that needs to see something to believe in it. That’s why I’ve always like science. You can explain pretty much anything in the universe with science. For example, just recently two independent studies have shown hints of finding the Higgs Boson particle which theoretically gives all matter its mass.

“Yeah I remember the news stories about that,” Raph nodded. “They also referred to it as the God particle.”

“I just have a hard time believing things that I can’t see,” Don said with a shrug as he stood up from the couch. “I’m not saying that it’s impossible for there to be a God. I’m just saying that I’m going to live my life worried about the possibility of one.”

Raph had an indulging smile on his face as he watched Don retreat to his lab. As much as he loved Don, mad scientist included, that didn’t mean that he always agreed with him.

 _You’re wrong Donnie_ , Raph thought. _There has to be a God. No one else could have created someone as wonderful as you._


	215. All He Needed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 2nd - Sidewalk

The sound of water echoed around the sewers. The noise could be irritating but was still oddly soothing to Raph. Having grown up in the sewers all his life he was used to water dripping from the ceilings or rushing by in the canals.

As much as Raph loved his family and his mate he also needed time for himself. If it were night he might have gone topside to run across the rooftops and search for criminals to stop. He might also have chosen a rooftop to just sit on and stare up at the sky if it was a clear night or looking at the city lights and just let himself relax.

It was the middle of the day however, just after lunch time, and there was no way that he could go up to the surface safely. True he might be able to use his ninja skills to hide in the shadows without being seen but that wouldn’t be safe for himself or his family.

Hiding also wasn’t what he was looking for. He wanted to be able to move around if he wanted to without having to look over his shoulder. He wanted to be able to let his mind wander without worrying about who might be around the next corner and having to be constantly on alert for an attack by an enemy.

Without much thought his feet led him on a path that took him directly under the busy sidewalks above. From here he could hear the sounds of humans hurrying about their day. Carefully Raph chose a relatively dry spot beneath an open grate and sat down to listen to the hustle and bustle above him.

The sunlight that filtered through the grate in the sidewalk down to the sewer where Raph was sitting still held some warmth that seeped into his skin. That combined with the sounds of the water around him and the people above him lulled him into a tranquil state much like the one that he experienced when he meditated.

There used to be a time in his life that he envied humans. They could go anywhere they wanted to, do anything they wanted to. Raph had wanted that freedom for himself and for his family. Why shouldn’t they be able to do everything that humans could? They were human in every way except for appearance.

For a while Raph had hated humans for this inequality. He still was willing to protect the people that needed help. He couldn’t turn his back on those weaker than himself but it didn’t mean that he had to like the people that he was helping though.

Growing up and later becoming friends with April and Casey helped to melt away that hatred. Finding love with Donatello allowed him to let go of his jealousy for the most part.

If he were human, a relationship with Donnie would range from being incredibly difficult to near impossible. So many humans in the country still frowned on homosexual relationships. Not that Raph would let that stop him. There was also the taboo against relationships with someone in your family, whether you were biologically related to them or not.

Raph would much rather have Don than be able to walk on the sidewalk in the sun. He would take that olive skin, soft chocolate eyes, and kind heart over being human without question. Don was all that he needed and Raph would trade anything and everything that he had just to have Don by his side.


	216. Gun Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 3rd - Armor

With a grunt, Raph plopped down on the couch joining his brothers and father in the living room. Dinner had ended twenty minutes ago and everyone else had gone to watch the evening news. Raph wasn’t a huge fan of watching the news and so had volunteered to wash the dinner dishes himself.

Now that everything was done though he wanted to spend time with his family. The moments that all five of them got to spend together were something that each of them treasured, even if it was just watching the news.

The station that they were watching was just going to commercial after talking about the alleged shooter at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Questions of why he committed such an act and the effects, if any, this was going to have on gun control were being discussed during the news broadcast.

“It would be nice if there were stricter gun control laws,” Leo commented. “Maybe that would help with some of the crime that we see on a nightly basis on the news and when we go to patrol.”

“The problem with that Leo,” Don interjected, “is that people who really want a gun to commit a crime are going to find a way to get one whether it’s legal or not. That guy that did the shooting was already planning all of that. Do you really think that making it harder or illegal for him to purchase a gun would have stopped him from getting one when he was already planning on breaking the law to begin with?”

“No probably not,” Leo admitted. “Something needs to be done though. Things aren’t going to change on their own. Either it needs to be harder for people to get their hands on guns or we need to find a better way of finding these people that would do these kind of things and stopping them or getting them help before it gets to that point.”

“Leo’s got a point,” Mikey chimed in. “The police do what they can here but we’re out there too dealing with those kinds of guys. I know we’ve got our shells and plastrons for armor and they’ve held up in battle before but they aren’t any match for a bullet.”

Raph shivered slightly at the truth in Mikey’s words and shifted a bit closer to Don. Raph knew that he was the one that tended to jump first and ask questions later when it came to fights topside. He would hate himself if it ever led to one of his brothers being shot.

“That was one good thing about my Nightwatcher outfit,” Raph said trying to lighten the mood. “It has bulletproof armor sewn all through it so I was pretty safe. If you want Fearless, we could make one for each of us.”

“No thanks Raph,” Leo said dryly. “That silly costume of yours can stay right in your closet where it belongs.”

Don perked up a bit at being reminded of his mate’s vigilante alter ego. That costume had done such nice things to Raph’s muscles. Maybe he could convince Raph to take it out again so they could take it for a spin together. All in the effort of testing to see if it would be practical armor for all of them of course.


	217. Mad Scientist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 4th - Insanity

Without morning practice to worry about, waking up was filled with steamy kisses in place of ringing alarms. As far as Don and Raph were concerned this was the best way to wake up and spend the morning. Both of them were laying on their sides facing each other while their tongues dueled in a battle for dominance of the other’s mouth.

Don attempted to gain an advantage by trailing one of his hands down Raph’s body and digging his fingers into Raph’s hipbone. Raph hissed as Don’s hold sent a spike of pleasure throughout his body. He retaliated by shoving one of his legs between Don’s and pressing it hard against the rapidly growing bulge in his lower plastron.

Don couldn’t stop the low churr from escaping at the feeling of Raph pushing against the spot where his erection was hidden. No matter how many times they made love he always reacted this strongly to his mate. It was impossible not to.

Raph decided to charge ahead and moved his kisses down to Don’s long neck. He topped the move off with a sharp but gentle nip to Don’s pulse point. The sensations were too much for Don and he dropped down into Raph’s waiting hand. Raph saw this as his signal to drop down and join his mate.

“Every time,” Raph moaned as he kept giving attention to Don’s neck. “Every time I bite right there you drop down the next moment.”

“Well Benjamin Franklin once said that the definition of insanity was to try the same thing over and over again expecting a different result,” Don groaned as he pumped his hips into Raph’s strong hand.

Raph for his part took both of their erections together in one hand and stroked them together. The feel of both of their pulsing member rubbing against each other shot waves of pleasure through both of them. Finding the lube and having one of them prep the other would take too long at this point.

“Yes well it can be argued that you could be called insane with some of the experiments that you try,” Raph teased his mate.

“I’m not insane,” Don said indignantly as he dug his fingers back into Raph’s hip. “That’s what you would call genius.”  
Raph churred and thumbed at the heads of their dicks. Don wasn’t the only one that could tease the others body.

“Yeah right,” Raph tossed back. “You’re one lab accident away from becoming one of those insane mad scientists from Mikey’s comic books.”

By this time it was getting hard to think coherently enough to form words and they both ceased their teasing in order to focus more on what they were doing and feeling. Their pleasure spun higher and higher until it was too much for them to take anymore and they both came together in tandem in Raph’s hand and all over their plastrons.

Softer kisses were traded as they both came down from their orgasm induced high. This was the nice thing about Saturday mornings. They could spend as much time as they wanted to in bed basking in the afterglow of their love making. The most movement that they attempted was grabbing a towel conveniently placed in the bedside table to wipe themselves off with.

“So do you think we fit Franklin’s definition of insanity?” Raph asked.

“No not really,” Don thought out loud. “It’s true that we repeat some of the same things over again in the bedroom but we keep getting the same result. We have amazing sex so I don’t see why we should stop now.”


	218. Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 5th - Test

Everything was finally starting to come together. Last night Raph and Don were able to find the final parts that they needed to complete making Don’s new bike. It had taken some time and digging through a lot of junk heaps but if everything went well they should be able to take it out for a test spin this evening when it got dark enough.

Knowing that they would be spending hours up in the garage Don and Raph had spent the rest of the day earlier with their family just hanging around the lair. Now that dinner was finished they excused themselves and headed up in the elevator to complete the last of the work.

While Don walked over to the box where they put the new parts that they found last night Raph turned on the radio for background noise. He didn’t like to work in silence. Even with Don there, most of their conversations could be said in only a few words such as pass the wrench. Raph did make sure to keep the volume low enough that if either of them did want to talk they could still hear the other.

The work only took them about an hour before they were standing beside the finished bike and wiping grease from their hands. The bike didn’t look as nice as Raph’s did but that wasn’t something that a little coat of paint couldn’t fix. They wanted to make sure that it ran fine before working on the aesthetics.

“Well there you go Donnie-boy,” Raph said proudly. “You’ve got your own bike now. Let’s go take it for a test drive.”

“We need to make sure that it works first though,” Don pointed out. “Sure we’ve hooked everything up correctly but they were all parts that were thrown away. I may have checked them over but there might still be a problem somewhere that I didn’t see.”

Raph wasn’t going to listen to Don doubting the work that they did together. Quickly he grabbed the keys that they had found when they got the frame to the bike and put them in the ignition. After flipping the kill switch into the on position and twisting the keys, Raph hit the start button and the bike roared to life under his hands.

“Looks like it’s running just fine to me Donnie,” Raph said with a small smirk.

Don couldn’t help the wide grin that took over his face. While he loved making things for his family, it was nice to make something for himself. Each of his creations were his babies in a way and this one he got to keep for himself.

“Well what are we waiting for then?” Don asked as he grabbed his helmet off of the nearby table. “I believe you said something about a test drive.”

Raph’s grin matched Don’s as he picked up his own helmet and went over to his own bike. Should the new bike break down they would need a way to get back to the garage. Also, if everything went according to plan he wanted to see just what kind of speed Don’s bike could put.


	219. In Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 6th - Breakfast

Don’s first conscious thoughts as he woke up were about how warm and comfortable that he felt. As his eyes fluttered open he looked straight ahead and saw the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table telling him that he still had half an hour to sleep before he would have to get up to eat breakfast before morning practice.

Slowly Don’s eyes drifted down to look at the strong golden plastron that he had been using as his pillow during the night. The steady rise and fall as Raph breathed was a very relaxing and nearly sent Don straight back to sleep.

The only thing that kept him awake was a thought that popped into his head and wouldn’t go away. He remembered all of the times throughout the years that Raph brought him food in his lab when he forgot to come out and eat or when he was literally dragged out to the kitchen table. This time he could pay Raph back for his efforts.

His biggest challenge at the moment would be slipping out of Raph’s arms without waking him up. Every night without fail, Raph would wrap Don into his arms while he slept. Don wasn’t sure if it was for Raph’s own comfort to know that his mate was close to him or if it was a subconscious need to make sure that Don was protected even as they slept. Either way, it made sneaking out of bed more difficult.

With slow movements so as not to arouse Raph’s protective instincts and wake him up, Don slid out of bed and made sure to cover Raph back up so that he wouldn’t get cold. Using the years of stealth training that he had received, Don made his way to the door and headed down to the kitchen.

Breakfast in bed would be a nice way to wake Raph up and start the morning. It would also be a nice thank you for all of the help that Raph had provided in assisting Don in making his new bike. The test drive that they had gone on last night had been a resounding success and they had spent quite a while celebrating.

Hot pancakes and coffee were two things that both Don and Raph liked to eat for breakfast. It was nice hot food that was easy to make and delicious to eat. It was just about the perfect breakfast that Don could think of to make.

Once the food was finished Don loaded it all onto a tray and carried it back upstairs to his and Raph’s room. Raph was already beginning to stir. Years of waking up at the same time every morning had set an internal alarm in all of them and it was now telling Raph that it was time to wake up.

The smell of coffee and the light kiss that Don placed on his mouth didn’t exactly hurt either. As Raph blinked his eyes open and sat up in bed he looked at what Don was holding in his hands.

When he saw the tray with breakfast sitting on it he couldn’t stop the soft smile that spread across his face. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day and he couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than here in bed with Don.


	220. Smelly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 7th - Lunch

Noon time was always a free for all in the kitchen. Lunch was not a meal that everyone typically shared together. Everyone made their own food when they wanted it and how they wanted it. The biggest challenge was trying not to trip over anyone else in the kitchen since they were usually making completely different things.

Don waited until everyone else had gotten their own lunch and left the kitchen before going in to make his own food. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have to work around any of his brothers or his father. He was actually trying to be considerate.

Egg salad was on the menu for lunch for Don and he knew how much the smell could permeate throughout the kitchen. Not everyone cared for the smell of the eggs as they boiled so Don made a conscious effort not to inconvenience his family if he could manage it.

Once the eggs had finished boiling Don started cracking them open with a spoon and dropping them into a bowl. That was one benefit of having calloused fingers. The heat didn’t burn his fingers as much as it would a human’s.

With a few rough chops and a couple dollops of Miracle Whip Don was ready to put the eggs on the bread and finish making his lunch. There were a few new orders for his business that he needed to attend to so Don just put his dirty lunch dishes into the sink and headed back to his lab.

The next hour was quite peaceful with nothing but the hum of his machines to distract Don from the work that he was doing. It wasn’t until a curt knock on the door and some rough footsteps sounded that Don even looked up from the emails that he was sending.

“Hey Don. I hate to bother you but Mikey’s in the kitchen whining about the dishes that you left in the sink. He wants to make something for dessert tonight but needs some of the dishes. Would you mind coming out and washing them?” Raph asked. “I’d do it but Leo’s drafted me into helping him clean the dojo since we’re the ones that use it the most.”

“Yeah no problem,” Don agreed readily standing up from his computer chair. “I made the mess. It’s only fair that I go and clean it up.”

As soon as Don stood up and started speaking Raph began backing up and waved a hand in front of his face. The smell of egg salad was still on Don’s breath and it wasn’t very pleasant. Raph couldn’t understand how his mate could eat something that smelled so bad.

“I think you might want to chew on a breath mint first Don,” Raph said still trying to get away from the smell. “I don’t know how you can eat that stuff.”

“I just had egg salad for lunch Raph,” Don said. “It’s not like the smell is poisonous or anything.”

“It might as well be,” Raph tried to argue.

Don couldn’t help but smile and shake his head at his mate’s overreaction to a little egg salad. “I’ll make sure to brush my teeth before kissing you then,” Don said over his shoulder as he walked out of the lab.

Raph knew he had overreacted a bit but he couldn’t help it. He just thought that egg salad was a bunch of smelly gunk in a bowl and no matter how hard Don tried he wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise.


	221. Taking Advantage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 8th - Dinner

Raph didn’t always agree with the plans that Leo came up with. Sometimes it was because he just felt like disagreeing with his older brother and other times it was because he felt that Leo was making a mistake that would get them into trouble. Occasionally however, Leo approached him with a plan that Raph gave his full support to.

The latter was the case when the sword wielder approached Raph about dinner for that evening. He had wanted to make a special dinner just for Mikey and needed help. He was hoping that Raph would agree to lend him a hand.

“So why exactly did you want to do this Leo?” Raph asked as they snuck into Casey’s apartment and began setting up everything that they would need in the kitchen.

“I guess I don’t really have a reason,” Leo answered while he filled a pot of water and set it on the stove to boil. “I just wanted to do something nice for Mikey. No special occasion, no reason for doing it other than because I care.”

Raph chuckled at Leo’s sentiment. “The nutball’s turning you into a big softie,” Raph teased lightly.

A slightly pink tinge coated Leo’s cheeks as he dropped the lengths of pasta into the now boiling water. “Maybe I am a softie when it comes to Mikey but you are too when you’re around Don,” Leo pointed out.

Raph grunted in acknowledgement as he cut a loaf of bread into slices. Leo had wanted to make lasagna and garlic bread for his and Mikey’s dinner tonight. He could never get the hang of cooking the bread without burning it so that job fell to Raph. Raph had also been the one to ask Casey for the use of his apartment as well.

“There’s something about them,” Leo continued. “We’ve always taken it easier on them. Always made sure that they were protected from both real threats as well as the ones in their nightmares.”

“Yeah, they know just how to wrap us around their fingers,” Raph agreed without a hint of remorse. “Besides, we’re their big brothers. We’re supposed to take care of them.”

They continued working side by side in silence for a while after that. Leo worked on browning the meat to go in the dish before pulling out a pan, marinara sauce, and cheese for when the pasta was ready. While Leo worked on the main dish Raph made the butter garlic sauce to spread on the bread once it was ready.

“Did you ever worry that you were taking advantage of him?” Leo asked breaking the silence. “Like you said, we’re their older brothers. They’ve been taught to trust us. Did you ever worry that you were taking advantage of that trust when you started your relationship with Don?”

Raph froze at Leo’s question, wondering where his line of thinking was going. He worried that Leo might be having second thoughts about what they were doing with their brothers.

“I was worried at first,” Raph began carefully. “That was why I waited so long to tell Don how I felt. I was afraid that he would just go along with it because he had always trusted me. After a while though I just couldn’t keep going without having him know that I loved him. I made sure he knew when I told him that this wasn’t lust and I didn’t expect him to feel the same in return.”

“I was so afraid that Mikey would think I was trying to take advantage of him. That’s why I didn’t tell him how I felt even after you and Don told all of us about the two of you,” Leo admitted. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”

“Naw, you’d never hurt any of us. Least of all Mike,” Raph assured him.

While they talked they finished making the lasagna and garlic bread and put them both in the oven to heat. They may butt heads but they also made an excellent team when they wanted to.

“I’ll head back to the lair now and let Mikey know that you want him up here for dinner,” Raph announced as he went over to the window.

“This is all because of you, you know,” Leo said just before Raph left. “If you had never had the courage to tell Don about your feelings now of this would have happened. Guess I’m not the only one that can be called Fearless.”


	222. Rough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 9th - Restraint

Don was a bit nervous as he stood outside his room door. He knew that Raph was in there waiting for him and Don had a request for his mate. It was something that he had wanted for a while now but had so far been unsure as to how to ask for it.

He remembered back to when he had told Raph that nothing that he enjoyed in the bedroom could be considered stupid and that he should feel free to share anything with him. It wasn’t so much that Don didn’t feel like he could follow his own advice. It was more that he couldn’t figure out how to begin the conversation. He was going to try tonight though.

Quietly walking through the door Don turned the lock behind him. He didn’t want to take the chance of being interrupted. When the door opened Raph had looked up from the laptop that Don had given him for Valentine’s Day. In a matter of seconds the top was closed and the computer was set aside as Don crawled into bed beside him.

Still unsure about how to begin the conversation Don started nibbling at Raph’s neck hoping that something would come to mind soon.

“Feeling a little frisky tonight Donnie-boy?” Raph asked as he reached down to tweak Don’s wiggling tail.

“A little,” Don said as he pulled his mouth away from Raph’s neck. “Raph I wanted to ask you something,”

The nervousness in Don’s tone caught Raph’s attention and he sat back a bit so he could look Don eye to eye. “You know you can ask me anything Don,” Raph assured him.

Don took a deep breath before beginning. “I want to do something a little different tonight,” Don started to explain. “I want you to take me hard. I want you to be rough, to lose all restraint.”

While Don was talking Raph moved them so that he was hovering over his mate. Gently he pet Don’s sides in order to help him feel more comfortable as he spoke what was on his mind.

“You sure that’s what you want Don?” asked Raph hesitantly with an underlying growl in his voice. “I’m just afraid that I might hurt you if I lose control.”

Don felt himself relax at Raph’s concern. He knew he had nothing to fear from his lover. Raph would never do anything to hurt him and Don told Raph as much.

“In that case, you want it rough than I’ll give it to you,” Raph growled.

Taking Don’s wrists into his hands Raph yanked them up to the headboard of the bed. He then reached over and took his mask off of the bedside table where he had put it earlier and used it as a restraint to tie Don to the bed.

After he was sure that the restraint would hold Raph started making his way down Don’s body leaving love bites to mark every bit of skin that he claimed. By the time he came to Don’s lower plastron his cock had already dropped down and Don’s was starting to poke out.

Raph gave the head of the dick in front of him a good swipe with his tongue which made Don release the rest of it into the open air. After that Raph ignored it in favor of taking the twitching tail that he had been rubbing before into his mouth while he used the lube that he had taken from the nightstand to shallowly prep Don’s entrance.

The prep wasn’t as thorough as he would normally do it but Don had asked for it rough and Raph would provide him with that. He wasn’t going in without any prep though. There was no way he was going to take the chance of hurting Don like that.

Once he deemed his work finished Raph moved back up onto his knees with Don’s legs thrown over his shoulders. Without wasting any more time Raph slammed himself deep into his mate.

Don cried out as the mixture of pleasure and pain assaulted his body. There was some burning due to the shallow prep but nothing that he couldn’t handle. Nothing that made him want to tell Raph to stop. With a sharp tightening of his legs Don urged Raph onward.

Raph got the hint and set a brutal pace of moving in and out of Don’s hot body. The iron grip that he had on Don’s upper thighs was going to leave bruises tomorrow but Raph couldn’t think about that at the moment. All he could think about was the tight heat that surrounded his cock.

The feeling of being pulled against the restraints that held him to the bed was intoxicating to Don. The love bites that Raph was placing on the inside of his thighs were just sending more pleasure spiking through his body.

Everything was quickly becoming too much for both of them. Don was wiggling on the bed as much as the restraints would allow him to which just made Raph thrust harder. Raph’s fast pace was causing Don to see stars as he writhed to try and find some release.

With two cries of pure bliss they both reached their climax, Don all over his plastron and Raph deep inside his mate. Once Raph came down from his high he lowered Don’s legs off his shoulders and untied his hands.

“Was it what you were hoping for?” Raph asked as he settled himself back down on the mattress and pulled Don into his arms.

“It was everything I wanted. Thank you Raph,” Don told his lover as he drifted off to sleep on the waves of their afterglow.


	223. Bruises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 10th - Explain

As Don stretched shortly after waking up he let out a low moan as a delicious ache spread through his lower anatomy. Nothing hurt but there was a definite reminder of what he and Raph had done the previous night. Morning practice might prove to be a challenge though once he got out of bed.

Raph had been calmly laying beside Don with his eyes closed just enjoying his mate’s company until he heard the moan. His eyes flew open and he quickly turned to look Don over for any injury that he may have caused and not noticed last night in the heat of the moment.

Turning the light on and flinging the covers back Raph started running his hands down Don’s body looking for whatever might be hurting him. The sight that met his eyes left Raph feeling guilty. Don had two hand sized bruises at the juncture where his legs met his hips. There were also red marks up and down his body from where Raph had bitten him in his excitement.

“Raph, what are you doing?” Don asked sleepily. The feeling of Raph’s hands on his body was sending waves of heat straight to his groin and he wasn’t sure that he could go another round so soon after last night.

“I hurt you,” Raph said in a pained voice. “I was too rough last night and I hurt. I’m so sorry Donnie.”

Don caught Raph’s hands in his own and stopped their wondering. Freeing one hand he tipped Raph’s face up towards his own so that he couldn’t avoid eye contact with his smaller mate.

“You didn’t hurt me Raph,” Don insisted. “I wanted it rough remember. If you had hurt me I would have told you to stop but I didn’t.”

“But you’re covered in bruises,” Raph continued to worry. “Leo is gonna kill me when he sees you.”

Don sat up so that he was resting back against the pillows. He also pulled Raph along with him and snuggled into his arms. It was easier to talk this way instead of laying on their sides.

“Why would you say that?” Don questioned. He couldn’t imagine why Leo would be angry with Raph for something that was completely consensual between the two lovers.

“He’s gonna see the bruises and marks on you and want an explanation,” Raph explained. “He takes his role as the oldest brother very seriously. When he finds out that I willingly did this to you he’s gonna be pissed and kill me.”

Don could tell that Raph was about to keep babbling about his fear. In order to stop him Don quickly caught Raph’s lips in a passionate kiss to stop his worrying.

“First, stop worrying about Leo,” Don ordered once he released Raph’s lips. “I gave you my consent and other than a few marks I am completely unharmed. Second, we don’t have to explain anything we do in private to anyone as long as it doesn’t affect the team. Third, I loved what we did. I have no regrets and I wish that you wouldn’t either.”

“I just can’t stand the thought of willingly hurting you,” Raph said as he nuzzled against Don’s neck.

“I know,” Don agreed as he nuzzled back. “I promise I will tell you if you ever hurt me. I trust that you’ll stop if I tell you to. Until then, I love carrying your marks on me.”

“Okay,” Raph finally sighed.

He wasn’t completely fine with what he had done but Don’s explanation did make him feel better. He would just be more careful next time.


	224. Bubbles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 11th - Complain

With a groan of satisfaction Don leaned back against the side of the giant tub in the bathroom. Evening practice had been a long and grueling one tonight. Master Splinter had them go through a series of advanced katas, grappling exercises, falling exercises, and multiple spars. Even Leo was complaining a little as they limped out of the dojo after Master Splinter dismissed them.

The half hour of meditation at the end of practice hadn’t been enough to relax Don. This is why he had headed straight to the bathroom and run himself a steaming hot bubble bath. Don knew that if Mikey or Raph were with him they would be complaining that bubble baths were too girly. Don didn’t care very much at the moment since the heat and the lemon scent of the bubbles were helping to relax his sore muscles.

Almost as though his thoughts had summoned his mate, Raph appeared in the doorway to the bathroom. Don’s eyes opened as Raph approached the tub and kneeled beside him. Idly Raph trailed his hands through the water feeling the heat.

“I was wondering where you had disappeared to,” Raph said. “I should have known you would be here.”

“You’re welcome to join me if you want,” Don offered.

There was more than enough room for both of them in the tub. They had gotten it a few years ago when going topside became more common. Injuries also became more frequent and having one large tub that they could all soak in together came in very handy more than once.

“I ain’t much of a bubble bath kind of a guy,” Raph pointed out.

Raph’s response disappointed Don a bit. He was hoping that they could share the tub together. Playing in the water together was always fun whether or not they did anything naughty. Not completely ready to give up Don gave Raph his best pout and replica of Mikey’s puppy dog eyes.

No matter how he may have wanted to try and resist, Raph knew that it would be a futile effort to even try so he didn’t even bother. Standing up Raph quickly shed his belt, pads, and mask and got into the tub beside his mate.

As soon as the hot water surrounded his body Raph let out his own groan. He no longer cared about complaining that the bubbles were girly. He just wanted to enjoy being right where he was. Don however wasn’t going to let him off so easily.  
“Don’t mind the bubbles so much now do you?” Don teased.

Raph just grunted in response and flicked some of the bubbles at Don.

“I mean you always complain whenever I suggest a bubble bath and now you probably wouldn’t get out of this one unless you had to,” Don continued to bait him.

Raph cracked one of his eyes open to throw Don a half hearted glare. He didn’t mind Don teasing him, he could give as good as he got. Raph just didn’t like having his own words thrown back at him. When Don opened his mouth again to keep going Raph surged forward. Quickly he clamped his mouth over Don’s and swallowed his words in a deep kiss.

“So maybe I did complain before,” Raph admitted once he came up for air. “But I’m not fully convinced yet. Care to help me with that?”

Don felt heat spread through his body that had nothing to do with the bath. Raph’s offer was just too good to pass up.


	225. Rainy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 12th - Pants

Raph couldn’t contain a grin when he saw the weather report update on the tv. According to the report there was supposed to be almost constant rain shower covering the city today. This made it the perfect day to go up to the store and stock up on any food items that they may need down in the lair.

They always appreciated it when April went out of her way to pick up things for them but they also liked to be able to take care of and provide for themselves. Rainy days were the perfect cover for them in the summer time. Normally it would look out of place for someone to go into a store completely covered up but in the rain it wasn’t out of place at all.

After telling Master Splinter where he planned on going and getting his approval, Raph headed to the kitchen to check out what they needed and make a list. Milk and eggs were definitely going on the shopping list. Don was running low on coffee and Mikey had finished up the last of his favorite cereal that morning. There were a couple of other odds and ends that they needed but not too much.

Now it was just a matter of putting on the human clothes that would allow him to move around topside without being noticed. Finding sweatshirts to cover their shells and upper bodies hadn’t been too difficult. The extra large sizes gave them plenty of room to work with.

It was finding pants that would fit them that was a challenge. Most pants that fit around their shells usually swamped their legs and made it easy to trip. This had caused them a lot of problems until Mikey had figured out how to use a needle and had hand sown the many pairs of pants they had so that they actually fit all of them.

It took Raph about two hours to complete his shopping trip. While the Battle Shell was more than capable of handling just about any weather the other humans on the roads were taking it much easier and going slower while driving. Raph had also had some trouble finding a parking space close to the store that they shopped at and had to walk out in the rain there and back causing him to get soaked.

Once he was back in the lair everyone came out to help put away the groceries. Raph used that time to try and divest himself of his soaking wet clothing. With the addition of the water they were hanging heavy on his frame and greatly restricted his movement and he just wanted them off.

Don noticed that Raph was having some difficulty getting his clothes off and brought him to his lab to help him. Getting the clothes off of his mate wasn’t the only thing that Don has on his mind. The way that the material of the pants was clinging to the muscles of Raph’s thighs was giving Don some ideas about what he wanted to do with Raph once they got the clothes off.


	226. Clever Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 13th - Jewelry

There were a lot of things about Don that Raph found fascinating. His genius was usually at the top of that list. He always seemed to be able to come out with a solution to just about any problem. No matter how many times Raph saw Don do it, he never ceased to be amazed at watching Don create something from nothing.

Don could take the most broken piece of garbage and turn it into a work of art. He could go to the junk yard one night, fins something that the humans had discarded as useless and make it work for their family. As far as Raph was concerned, Don was without equal.

With the two of them working together on their online business Raph got to watch this miracle of creation time and time again. Currently Don was working on restoring a jewelry box that they had found recently on a trip to the junk yard.

One of the hinges on the box had broken and the other was bent out of place. The finishing had also been worn off over what could only be assumed was years of use. The box itself was still very sturdy and the wood carvings along the outside edges were quite pretty so Don thought it was worth his time to repair.

The biggest problem however weren’t the hinges or the finishing but the fact that it was a music jewelry box. The tiny gears inside had taken some damage when it was thrown away and Don was determined to restore it to its former glory.  
While Don worked on the jewelry box Raph looked over their site and made sure that everything was in working order. This included answering emails, checking the status of items that they already had listed, and posting new items that had finished being repaired.

The only problem that Raph was encountering as he worked was Don. Don wasn’t even doing anything on purpose to be distracting. He wasn’t even aware that Raph was watching him as closely as he was. Don had a large magnifying glass in front of him so that he could more easily see the parts that he was working with and some fine tools to use in repairing the musical mechanisms and gears and was completely focused on his work.

Raph couldn’t help watching his mate work though. Unlike humans they didn’t have five slim fingers with which to work. They only had three thick digits that were not designed to be able to manage the smaller tools that humans had made for their day to day work.

This simple fact didn’t slow Don down at all. He somehow managed to work around that every single day as he kept everything in the lair running. His hands never slowed down and he hardly ever made a mistake. Don had found a way to either adapt or work around anything that needed a smaller, delicate touch.

With an exclamation of glee, Don set aside the tools he had been using. Carefully he picked up the jewelry box and twisted the spoke on the bottom. When he let go it began turning and a lovely little melody began playing. Raph grinned widely at Don’s excited face. He never for a moment doubted Don’s ability but his joy in completely a difficult problem was infectious and he liked sharing in his mate’s accomplishments.


	227. Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 14th - Tattoo

It wasn’t often that the Hamato family left their home together to go anywhere but when April and Casey invited them over to eat dinner with them they weren’t about to say no. Spending time with their friends was something that they enjoyed doing immensely and didn’t seem to do often enough.

When they arrived at April’s apartment almost everything was ready so they could start eating. The only thing that needed to be finished was actually cooking the cheese burgers that would be the main course for their meal.

Casey was at the stove getting the pan heated up since he claimed that cooking meat was a man’s job so he should be the one to do it. Normally April would have argued that she was perfectly capable of making burgers but if Casey was going to volunteer that would just give her more time to hang out with the guys and Master Splinter.

Before heading into the living room to sit with everyone she asked if anyone wanted anything to drink. Raph and Master Splinter said no, Mikey asked for a soda, and Don and Leo asked for water. Grabbing a few glasses, April opened the fridge to get the drinks.

“Would you mind grabbing me a beer while you’re in there babe?” Casey asked April.

April grimaced at the nickname. She hated it when Casey called her that and had told him that many times. Despite this Casey didn’t really seem to get the hint and April planned on teaching him a lesson this time.

Walking up behind him she pinched him hard right on the ass causing him to yowl loudly. “Don’t call me ‘babe’,” she ordered.

Casey spun away from April as fast as he could, rubbing his ass where April had pinched him. His antics were strange enough to draw the attention of everyone sitting in the living room.

“What’s wrong Case?” Raph asked curiously. “It’s not like April pinched you that hard.”

At Raph’s question Casey froze where he was. April burst out laughing at his predicament. “You want to tell them what’s wrong or should I Casey?” April teased.

“No it’s really all right,” Casey stammered out. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh come on Casey,” April wheedled. “Don’t you want to tell everyone how you love me so much that you went out and got my name tattooed on your butt last night?”

Casey’s face turned beet red as everyone started howling in laughter.

“I was drunk,” Casey protested trying to save some of his dignity.

“I don’t think you’re helping your case man,” Raph advised when he saw the slight frown on April’s face.

Don turned to Raph and said, “There is no way that you’re going out with Casey anymore if you get drunk.”

“Oh what’s the matter Donnie?” Mikey teased. “Don’t you want Raphie permanently marked with a tattoo showing everyone just who his ass belongs to?”

With a playful growl Raph leapt from his seat and tackled his younger brother to the floor putting him into a headlock. Don couldn’t help his eyes being drawn to Raph’s round ass that was on full display. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a horrible thing if Raph got his name there, marking him for all the world to see.


	228. Pizzas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 15th - Delicious

It was getting to be late in the evening and Raph and Don had just returned from a run topside. They had needed to get a package in the mail tonight so that it would reach their customer within the three day mailing period that they promised.

Now that they were back in the lair their stomachs were reminding them that it was dinner time and that they were both quite hungry. Luckily for them there was a delicious smell in the lair leading them straight into the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen Leo was rolling up some dough on the counter while Mikey was working away over at the stove.

“What are you guys making?” Raph asked as he took a deep breath of the wonderfully smelling air.

“Mikey wanted pizza for dinner tonight and instead out ordering out we decided to make our own,” Leo explained. “Do you guys want some? There should be plenty.”

“Sure,” Don and Raph agreed at the same time.

Together they walked over to the sink so that they could wash their hands. It wouldn’t be fair to have Mikey and Leo make everything and not to help them.

“What kinds are you planning on making?” Raph asked as he grabbed some extra dough and started rolling it out.

“We were going to make a plain cheese pizza for sensei,” Mikey listed off. “There’s also going to be a pepperoni and mushroom pizza and a ham and bacon pizza.”

“That last one sounds delicious,” Don said.

Don went over to the fridge and took out the cheese, ham, pepperoni, and mushrooms. He wanted to get them ready for when everyone was ready for them. Mikey was cooking the bacon and heating up the sauce while all of this was happening.

Once the three things of dough were all stretched out Leo and Raph shared the pot of sauce between them and began spreading it around to start making the pizzas. Don sprinkled the cheeses when they were done. As soon as Mikey was done cooking the bacon he proceeded to put the rest of the toppings on and put the pizzas in the oven to bake.

While the pizzas cooked the brothers sat around the kitchen table and talked to one another. As they talked none of them could help but continually glance at the clock waiting for the pizzas to finish cooking so they could satisfy their hunger.

The moment the timer went off the pizzas were taken out of the oven and put onto the table. The pies were barely allowed to cool before Leo saved a few pieces for Master Splinter and everyone started devouring them.

As Don finished up the last few bites of his pizza he saw some sauce that had smeared across the side of Raph’s mouth. Setting his own plate down, Don left his seat and moved so that he was now straddling Raph’s lap. Much to Raph’s surprise, Don ran his tongue over the sauce and ended with a deep kiss to his mate’s lips.

Eventually he had to pull away so that they both could breathe again. Raph was lightly panting after the surprise kiss left him breathless.

“Delicious,” Don complimented with heated eyes.


	229. Really Small Rocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 16th - Witch

Movie nights were some of the most fun that occurred in the lair. It was a time when all of them could spend time with each other just having fun without having to worry about anything. The only thing that they would need to watch out for would be staying up too late since they still had practice tomorrow morning.

At the moment none of them were too worried about tomorrow and were focused more on what they were doing now. All four of them were currently in the kitchen getting together all of the snacks that they would need to get through a night full of movies.

Don and Raph were getting drinks for everyone while Mikey grabbed a giant bowl for the popcorn that Leo was making. When the microwave dinged in completion Leo pulled the bag out and hastily opened it.

“Oww!” Leo yelped as the steam from the newly opened popcorn bag burned his finger.

“You okay Leo?” Mikey asked taking his mate’s hand in his own.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Leo assured.

Don walked over and took Leo’s hand from Mikey so that he could examine it himself and assess the damage. There was a superficial redness to the skin where the steam had met the finger but nothing serious. Pulling Leo with him Don took him over to the sink to run the finger under cold water to help with the burn.

Raph snorted at Leo’s reaction. “We had to beg you to sit through that movie while you moaned the whole time and now you’re quoting it,” Raph said incredulously.

Leo shrugged with little embarrassment. “I changed my mind. So sue me,” Leo shot back as he dumped the now slightly cooled popcorn into a big bowl. “At least Don fixed my finger so I can still use it to take you down tomorrow in practice since that’s all I need.”

Raph growled playfully as Mikey once again grabbed Leo’s hand to examine his finger for himself.

“It is all better,” Mikey said as he saw the evidence in front of him. “That means that Don must be a witch. Burn him!”

“I’m not a witch. I’m not a witch,” Don protested playfully.

“Now Mikey,” Raph said coming to his mate’s defense but still playing along. “We would need to make sure that he’s a witch first before we burn him.”

Leo laughed at the scene in front of him and the glee in his younger brothers’ eyes. “Well since witches are made of wood and wood floats, we can test to see if he weighs the same as something else that floats,” Leo explained logically.

“We could use really small rocks!” Mikey exclaimed excitedly.

At that point none of them could keep up the charade any longer and everyone burst into laughter. The laughing lasted for quite a few minutes before anyone was able to gain control of themselves again.

“That was fun,” Don said.

“Yeah I still remember the time that Mikey tried to see if he could actually find any rocks small enough that they would float,” Raph remembered.

Mikey snorted for effect as he picked up the popcorn and headed for the living. “See if I share any of this with any of you now.”

Raph just shook his head as he picked up the drinks and followed after his baby brother.

“So what movie are we watching again?” Don asked Leo as they too left the kitchen.

“Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” Leo grinned.


	230. Perfect Score

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 17th - Perfection

Practice was a mixed bag of success this morning. On the one hand all of the brothers were present and accounted for at the beginning of practice with no one arriving late. On the other hand they were all still tired from their late night movie night from the evening before.

Master Splinter wasn’t too pleased with his sons’ behavior and intended on making this practice a challenging one in order to teach them a lesson about being more aware of their obligations. They went through spar after spar, facing off against each brother in turn, with Master Splinter expecting nothing less than perfection in their movements.

Don, not Leo, was the only one to come close to his father’s expectations. It wasn’t so much that Don performed any better than his brothers, he just didn’t fail as much as they did. Don was more use to staying up late into the night and going without as much sleep as his brothers so being tired at practice didn’t affect him as much as it did his brothers.

While Don was happy to shine as the perfect student for practice today his oldest brother wasn’t as thrilled. Leo had gotten used to being the perfectionist of the four of them during this time of the day and he wasn’t sure that he liked being knocked from that perch.

This made Leo try ever harder to beat Don when they were paired together for their sparring match. Don however knew exactly what Leo was up to and didn’t plan on backing down. It wasn’t often that he deliberating stood toe to toe with his leader but he wanted to be the one to shine in the spotlight today.

Raph for his part was extremely proud of his mate. He had been slightly embarrassed when he was taken down so quickly by his slow to anger and usually pacifistic mate. After Raph was helped back to his feet though he was willing to concede that he had been beaten and didn’t hold a grudge. Raph even laughed when Don took down Mikey in under five minutes.

Now Don was up against Leo. He was going for a perfect score this morning and he wasn’t about to let his leader beat him. Every time Leo pushed Don back, he just regrouped and came back at a different angle.

Don’s strategy was to keep Leo spinning in circles in the hopes that it would slightly disorient him and allow Don to get enough hits in to wear him down. Leo knew what Don was trying to do but even that knowledge wasn’t enough to prevent his downfall.

The tiredness left over from the night before, in addition to the spinning and the two previous spars that Leo had already participated in, left him at less than his best. Don seized on the moment to knock his oldest brother to the floor and pin him there in order to secure his third victory and perfect score for that day’s training.


	231. Codes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 18th - Language

After dominating in practice the day before, Don was looking forward to getting back to his lab and the area of his expertise today. Leo could keep the dojo. Don was fine with not having to worry about trying to be the perfect ninja as long as he still knew enough to protect himself and his family.

Here in his lab with his computer he was king. The computer and access to the internet that he had set up as a young teenager gave him a sense of freedom that wasn’t common in their lives below the streets out of sight of the humans up above.

Ever since Don had repaired his first computer he had worked tirelessly to understand the language that they spoke. The coding that went into everything electronic to make it work was astounding when Don first began learning it.

There was HTML, XML, JavaScript, VBScript, PHP, and many more. Each had its own purpose and function. If young Donnie wanted to turn the internet and any technology that he could get his hands on into his own personal kingdom than he knew that he would have to learn all of these different languages.

As the years went by, technology took on a greater importance in their lives. Part of it was just having the basic things such as electricity and running water. With the addition of going topside more often and acquiring new enemies such as the Foot and the Purple Dragons, Don’s ability to interpret the language of computer codes was put to the test.

With the increased demands on Don’s particular set of skills he found himself struggling to keep up. In an effort to try and relieve some of the pressure that had built up, Don had worked on teaching his brothers how to read coding.

Mikey had taken to the lessons like a duck to water. All the years that he had spent playing video games and finding cheat codes to use were paying off now. Leo had a bit more difficulty but eventually understood enough that he could lend Don a hand with the security systems that kept them all safe and hidden.

The only one that had real difficulties with this new language was Raph. He gave it an honest effort but it was just hard for him to wrap his head around. Schematics for repairing vehicles or fixing pipes were within his grasp but computer codes seemed to stump him at almost every turn.

The difficulties that Raph had made Don’s discovery even sweeter when he started up his computer this morning. As soon as the computer turned on the screen started becoming pixilated. Don was about to panic but the screen suddenly rearranged itself to form a message.

In the middle of the screen was a giant red heart with words inside of it saying I Love you Donnie in purple letter. Don felt his heart catch in his throat at the emotions that welled up inside of him.

It must have taken Raph at least a week to learn the coding to be able to pull it off. The fact that he had gone to some much trouble for such a little gesture meant the world to Donnie. He would make sure to show Raph just how much he appreciated it later tonight.


	232. Dark Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 19th - Dessert

Secrets were hard to keep in a family full of ninjas. Sure it was possible to manage to keep them if someone really tried like Raph and Don had done with their relationship for the first few months. By and large though it was difficult to slip anything past any of the four of them, let alone Master Splinter.

The trouble that the brothers were facing was that tomorrow is Master Splinter’s birthday and they all wanted to do something nice for him. He always insisted that they shouldn’t get him any gifts. It had been a battle of wills for a couple of years between him and his sons over whether or not they should get him any presents.

Eventually the boys had acquiesced to their father’s request but they had held firm at still making the day special and making a cake for him. Since Master Splinter was quite fond of desserts so this was one battle that he didn’t even try to fight.

This tradition is what led everyone to be crammed into the kitchen together trying not to run into each other while they decided on what to make for dessert for tomorrow.

There was no doubt in any of their minds that their sensei already knew that they would be making some kind of dessert. The surprise was exactly what they would be making. Every year they tried to do something a little different to keep it interesting and to keep Master Splinter guessing. This is why they had to be sneaky and make sure that their father wasn’t anywhere around when they started baking.

Mikey had declared himself in charge of the operation since he had the most experience in the kitchen and could therefore be trusted not to blow anything up. There had been some minimal grumbling from Raph about not wanting to have to follow the orders of his baby brother but they were half hearted at best.

Raph came up with the idea to make a three layered double chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in between each layer. Mikey had been all for that idea and Leo had agreed after some persuasion since Master Splinter did have a certain weakness for chocolate.

Don had been the only one to hesitate on the decision for the dessert. At first Raph had been disappointed that his mate didn’t think that his idea was a good one but relaxed when Don said that the idea itself wasn’t what he had an issue with.  
As the medic of their family Don was intimately aware of any health problems that anyone had and did his very best to keep them healthy. Even as a onetime thing, that much chocolate wasn’t that good for anyone.

His solution was that if everyone insisted on everything being chocolate that it should at least be dark chocolate since it had more antioxidants in it and therefore had more healthy properties than milk chocolate alone. He also insisted on lots of milk to help wash everything down.

This was a compromise that everyone could live with. Now they just needed to get everything together and make sure that Master Splinter didn’t find the cake before tomorrow or there would be no dessert.


	233. Master Splinter's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 20th - Wish

The sound of music filling the air did not illicit its normal response from the red and purple banded turtles. It was earlier than they were used to getting up and even as the music pulled them from their sleep they longed to return to the dreamless slumber they had just left.

If they wished to be up and have everything ready to go for their father’s birthday than they needed to wake up and start their day before they normally did. This didn’t mean that they had to like the waking up process.

By the time they got down to the kitchen Leo and Mikey were already in there. Leo stood at the stove waiting for the water in the tea kettle to heat up enough for him to make their sensei’s morning tea. Mikey was leaning against the counter fighting to keep his eyes open against the glare of the over head light.

Don yawned as he started up the coffee machine. If he was going to be up now he certainly wasn’t doing it without coffee. He might even be tempted to share it with Raph if he asked nicely.

With a terse shove to Leo, Raph forced his way next to the stove so he could begin cooking the scrambled eggs and bacon that would create the main course of the breakfast that they would be sharing with their father on his birthday.

Taking a strong drink from his coffee as soon as it was finished brewing Don started grabbing the tray and plates that they would need once the food finished cooking. While all of this was going on Mikey finally woke up enough that he pulled the cake out of its hiding place and started putting the finishing decorations on it.

Once breakfast was finished they all quietly made their way to Master Splinter’s room with breakfast in hand. There really wasn’t a huge need to remain quiet since they knew that Master Splinter was always awake by this time but they still wished to remain respectful of him and the room he occupied.

After a soft knock on the door they were invited inside. Master Splinter was sitting on his bed waiting for his sons’ visit. Ever since his sons had him pick out a birthday for himself they had been bringing him breakfast in bed to start the day and he wouldn’t deny them this tradition.

“This is delicious,” Master Splinter complimented as he started in on the plate in front of him.

“Thank you sensei,” all four of them chorused.

“I am quite delighted that you all went to such trouble to create such a lovely meal especially considering the early hour,” said Master Splinter, glancing at his three youngest.

Raph, Don, and Mikey felt their cheeks heat up at their father’s words. They knew that they weren’t the early risers of the family but it was embarrassing to have it pointed out.

“We just wanted you to enjoy your birthday without having to worry about anything,” Leo said diplomatically.

“Yeah,” Mikey piped up excitedly. “And later we have cake for you and you can make a wish and blow out the candles.”

“How can I wish for anything more than my four beloved sons,” replied Master Splinter.

The love he felt for his sons and the love he knew they felt in return was all Master Splinter could have ever wished for in his life and he wouldn’t trade a single day with them for anything in the world.


	234. Long Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 21st - Hope

The day started on a sweet note for Raph and Don when they got to sleep in to their normal time instead of having to get up early like they had done yesterday. After that point however things seemed to go downhill for the day.

Practice started late when Leo had to go upstairs and drag Mikey out of bed because he had over slept after spending most of the night trying to level up on one of his video games. This put Leo in a bad mood since he had warned his mate not to stay up too late because they had morning practice.

Raph wasn’t too concerned at first since he was paired up to spar against Mikey. Since the orange banded turtle had just woken up he was easy pickings for his older brother and Raph quickly won their match.

Don on the other hand wasn’t enjoying Leo’s bad mood. While Leo may be a master of his emotions when it came to his facial features, those emotions came out full force when he was sparring. Don hoped that the match would end soon because if things kept going the way they were he would soon become a permanent part of the practice mat.

Once Master Splinter finally called an end to practice Don nearly crawled out the door in an effort to escape Leo’s ferocity. Raph followed behind at a slightly slower pace to comfort his mate and make sure that he could still walk. Behind him Raph could hear Master Splinter telling Mikey that he would remain behind with Leo for extra practice for being late this morning.

By the time Raph got to the living room he found Don laying face down on the couch. Gently Raph took his shoulders and pulled him up a bit, sat down where Don’s head had been, and rested Don’s head on his lap so that he wouldn’t suffocate.

“Uhhh,” Don groaned. “I really hope that they figure something out between the two of them because I’m not sure that I can make it through another practice like that.”

Raph pulled the sweat soaked mask off of Don’s head and rubbed at his temple trying to chase away the tension that he could see building there.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much Donnie,” Raph assured. “You know those two. Mikey is all forgive and forget and Leo has such a soft spot for that nutball. This should blow over by the end of the day.”

Don was going to respond but before he could they heard shouting coming from inside the dojo. Raph and Don couldn’t help but stare at the closed door in shock. They could count on one hand the number of times that Leo and Mikey had gotten into a shouting match with each other and they only had three fingers.

Without warning the door to the dojo slammed open and Mikey came storming out and headed straight upstairs to his room, slamming that door behind him.

“Wow,” Raph whistled lowly. “I wonder what that was all about.”

“I don’t know but I hope that they’re okay,” Don said worriedly. He didn’t like it when any of his brothers fought with each other.

They both knew that only time would be able to tell when their brothers would be okay but they also knew that it might take a while. Both Leo and Mikey could be quite stubborn when they wanted to be. This was going to be a long day.


	235. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 22nd - Need

The living environment in the lair hadn’t improved much since yesterday morning. The tension between Mikey and Leo had grown so thick that you could cut it with a knife. They were still doing their best to get through the day without talking to each other and interacting as little as possible.

Raph reached the end of his rope when he and Mikey were sitting together in the kitchen eating lunch and Leo came in to get something to eat for himself. The moment Mikey saw Leo enter the room he scraped his chair backwards and stalked out.

Leo continued into the kitchen but muttered under his breath as he got everything ready to eat. The sound of the cupboards slamming closed and the plate clanking on the counter was getting on Raph’s nerves very quickly and it wasn’t long before he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Standing up, Raph exited the kitchen and headed straight for Don’s lab with a determined stride. He needed to get out of the lair and away from the tension that seemed to be trying to create a permanent fixture in their home.

“Donnie, I’m heading out for a while. You wanna come with me?” Raph offered. If he was going to escape for a few hours he felt that he should offer his mate the same opportunity.

Before Don could answer the sound of the tv blasting out in the living room made its way to the lab letting them know exactly where Mikey had ended up.

“I would love to join you,” Don said ardently. “I love our brothers dearly but they are starting to get on my nerves and I need to get away from them before I snap.”

Don quickly shut down the programs that he was running and turned off his computer. Raph took Don’s hand in his own and pulled him from his chair and towards the exit that led into the sewers. As they made their way through the lair they caught Master Splinter’s eye and he gave them a smile and nod indicating his approval of their plan.

Raph and Don were silent as they walked through the tunnels. They didn’t need words to communicate with each other. A simple glance or squeeze of their hands said volumes without having to speak.

As they walked their footsteps never faltered in their destination. Neither had to say anything to the other about where they wanted to go. At this point it was almost automatic that they just headed straight for the underground lake that they had found almost half a year ago.

It was calming there and the best part at this time was that neither of their brothers knew about its location which meant that they could be there completely alone without having the fight follow them here.

As soon as they walked into the large cavern Don launched himself at Raph and ravenously attacked his lips. Raph returned the kiss with equal passion and force. Every time they tried to share affection in the lair they would get glares from their brothers who were currently abstaining from such interaction.

This decrease in intimacy had only served to increase the need they felt for one another. Now that they had the privacy they craved they wouldn’t be leaving until that need was completely satisfied and all of the tension was gone.


	236. Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 23rd - Mountains

Don was starting to become a little worried about the ongoing argument between his oldest and youngest brothers. He knew that they could both be extremely stubborn when they wanted to be but this was getting to be ridiculous.

Both Mikey and Leo had obviously made an effort not to be in the kitchen at the same time while eating breakfast this morning. When practice had finished Leo stayed in the dojo to continue working on his kata and Mikey headed straight upstairs to his room and closed the door behind him.

This left Raph, Don, and Master Splinter standing together in the living room. Master Splinter shook his head sadly and retreated to his room for the time being. While he didn’t like it that two of his sons were having such difficulties but he knew that they would have to be the ones to figure things out for themselves and that he couldn’t do it for them.

Both Raph and Don were starting to get tired of their brothers’ attitudes and were more than happy at this point to butt into their business. They couldn’t take living like this anymore.

“So I’ll go talk to Mikey and you’ll talk to Leo,” Don checked with Raph as he stared at the closed door on the second level of their home.

“Yup,” Raph agreed. “And hopefully we can get everything back on track by the end of the night.”

With that they separated. Raph went for the dojo to try and talk to Leo and Don headed for Mikey’s room to try and get his younger brother to open up and talk to him. As Don approached the door he realized how large of a mountain that he might have just signed on to climb.

After knocking on the door Don stood there until he heard movement inside. Slowly the door inched open so that he could barely see Mikey’s face staring out at him. When Mikey saw that it was Don standing there and not Leo he opened the door wider.

“What do you want Donnie?” Mikey asked carefully. He knew that his and Leo’s behavior was getting on his brothers’ nerves but he really didn’t want another lecture.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Don said calmly. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Reluctantly Mikey opened the door wide enough for Don to pass through. He knew that once his genius brother set his mind to something there was no stopping him.

“I really don’t want to talk about Leo right now,” Mikey said trying to beat Don to the pass.

“Well that’s too bad because we need to talk about it,” Don said firmly. “It’s been three days now. What happened that was bad enough for you both to be fighting for three days?”

Mikey turned around and flopped down on his bed while he thought about his answer. “He just doesn’t let things go,” Mikey finally answered. “I was late for practice and he just kept nagging me about it. I apologized and promised to do better but he wouldn’t let it go and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“So you’re mad at him for doing what he would do to any of us for being late to practice?” Don confirmed. “To me it almost sounds like you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.”

“It wasn’t just the nagging,” Mikey protested. “I know I deserved the lecture but it was the way he did it. I’m his boyfriend, his mate, his partner. He should talk with me and to me, not at me.”

Don smiled softly at his little brother’s reasoning. “You do have a point,” Don acquiesced as he sat down on the bed next to Mikey. “You need to be treated as Leo’s equal. But you also need to remember where he’s coming from. It’s his job as the leader to make sure that we can all protect ourselves and part of that means being on time to practice. That means that practice is important to him and he takes it very seriously.”

“I know,” Mikey groaned as he brought an arm over his face as though trying to block out the world and the problems that he was having.

“Talk to him,” encouraged Don. “Avoiding each other isn’t going to help and will probably just make things worse.”

With that Don got up and left the room. He had done what he could and hoped that Raph had some luck when talking to Leo. It was all up to their brothers now.


	237. Action Over Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 24th - Velvet

Things seemed to be moving in a positive direction for Mikey and Leo this morning. They were able to tolerate each other’s presence at breakfast and even greeted each other when they first walked in. Beyond that they were mostly silent but Raph and Don saw this as an improvement and decided to let them figure out the rest on their own.

With their brothers beginning to work through their problems this gave Don and Raph more time to spend together without receiving any glares for their display of affection. Don took full advantage of this when he left the bathroom after taking a shower after practice was over.

Don came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and looked around the lair for his mate. Spotting Raph sitting on the couch in the living room Don took a detour in front of him. As he passed by the towel slipped from Don’s grasp and fell to the floor. With a smile flashed over his shoulder, Don bent down putting his ass on full display and flicked his tail in front of Raph.

Raph’s mouth went immediately dry at the sight in front of him. Don had barely stood back up before Raph threw him over his shoulder and dragged him up to their room. The door was quickly locked and Don was tossed onto the bed with Raph crawling on top of him.

While his mouth was slowly claiming Don’s Raph reached his hand down to fondle the tail that had been teasing him just a few minutes earlier. The tail wiggled in his grasp as Don moaned at the pleasure that was sent spiking through his body at the touch.

As his hand moved to where the tail met the rest of Don’s body Raph’s knuckle grazed against his entrance. With the slightest pressure Raph’s finger disappeared into Don’s body that had been thoroughly prepared while he took his shower. With a cheeky grin and a searing kiss Raph dropped down and lined himself up.

Slowly Raph slid into Don’s body and its welcoming heat. Once he was fully sheathed inside his mate he held himself still for fear that he might finish too soon if he kept moving. The tight, moist walls of Don’s ass clenched around him making it difficult to keep himself in check.

Holding still was becoming unbearable so Raph gave a short but hard thrust hitting Don’s prostate dead on and dragging a rumbling churr from him and sending his cock tumbling out. With a firm hand Raph gripped one of Don’s knees in one hand and pulled it up higher, hooking it over his shoulder.

This new position gave Raph more access to thrust deeper into his mate and bring them both more pleasure. As he shoved into Don again Raph couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle.

“What are you laughing at?” Don asked indignantly. On his back with his mate between his legs was not a place Don wanted to be while being laughed at.

“I was just thinking about the authors of those romance novels that you like to pretend that you don’t have,” Raph explained earning a blush on Don’s face at his revelation. “They’re always describing someone as feeling like velvet when they’re entered. That doesn’t even come close to describing you.”

Don rolled his eyes slightly and deliberating tightened himself around Raph’s cock. If his mate was going to interrupt their lovemaking to have such a ridiculous conversation than Don he determined to make him regret it.

“How exactly am I not like that?” Don asked as he tried to thrust himself against Raph and get him to move again.

“Well for starters velvet feels weird when you rub it the wrong way but you always feel amazing,” Raph answered with an evil smirk at Don’s predicament.

“Then there’s the fact that while velvet is kind of soft it isn’t all that warm,” Raph continued giving one long, slow thrust to keep teasing Don. “You on the other hand are always warm and you’re so moist and tight.”

Don growled a bit. While he didn’t mind the compliments from his mate he didn’t think that this was the best time or place to analyze his body to this extent. In order to shut Raph up Don used his remaining free leg to twist himself on the bed and flip them over so that he was on top of Raph.

“I love the fact that you love my body Raph but right now I would rather have you show it than talk about it,” Don declared.

Without wasting anymore Don slammed himself down onto Raph and rode him hard. Raph’s hands flew up and grasped Don by the hips and helped him thrust harder. It didn’t take too long going at this new pace before they were both reaching their climax.

As Don worked on catching his breath he laid down across Raph’s chest with his cock still buried in his body. It was a few minutes before he finally rolled over and let Raph pull himself back in. It wasn’t long before they started to doze off wrapped in each other’s arms and sailing on the wave of their afterglow. There was nothing that they needed to do and a whole afternoon ready to be filled with cuddling.


	238. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 25th - Heaven

For the first time in four days the boys were running across the rooftops topside while going on patrol. Leo and Mikey had talked to each other yesterday and worked everything out between the two of them. Things had now returned to normal and the lair had returned to a comfortable state of peace.

Being able to run around together without worrying that their group may fall apart at any given moment was heaven compared to how they had been living for the past few days.

Hearing Mikey laugh as he cart wheeled across roofs and back flipped over alleyways was infectious. An impromptu game of ninja tag began when Leo tried to catch Mikey and failed. Raph and Don made their own attempts in an effort to show up their leader and missed as well.

Mikey thought that this was a ton of fun leading his brothers around in circles and still keeping out of their reach. He did have to keep on his toes however. His brothers working together as a team could be a formidable opponent. Mikey knew he would have to work hard if he was going to remain free and unclobbered in the case of being caught by Raph.

Raph turned out to be the least of Mikey’s problems however. After a few days of the boys not having been topside the Foot had taken to running unchecked across the roofs and they weren’t pleased to see the turtles back in action.

Raph and Don quickly took positions close to one another so that they could defend themselves and watch each other’s backs at the same time. Don’s bo staff could keep most of the Foot at a reasonable distance from them while Raph could use his sais to deal with anyone that got past Don’s initial defenses.

Leo was a bit more worried about the attack however. Unlike Raph and Don, Mikey was beyond where Leo could effectively watch his back. He trusted his little brother and mate to be able to take care of himself but that didn’t mean that Leo wanted him to have to.

Just as Leo was starting to move towards where his mate was fighting close to the roof’s edge he heard a cry of pain coming from behind him. Turning swiftly, Leo saw Don standing above Raph who was clutching his right elbow with his left hand while his arm hung uselessly from a hit to the nerves there.

The fury in Don’s eyes and the strength with which he lashed out with his bo made the Foot think twice about continuing their attack. The addition of Leo joining in was what tipped the balance in their favor and sent the rest of the Foot running.

As Don helped Raph back up to his feet and replacing his sais back in his belt Leo turned around to see if Mikey was going to join them and stiffened as he looked around. Don noticed the change in Leo’s stance and glanced up to see what was wrong.

The rest of roof was completely empty with no Mikey to be found anywhere. This caused a jolt of alarm to flash through all of them. Quickly they made their way over to where they had last seen their youngest brother to try and find out where he had disappeared to.

It was Raph who glanced down into the alleyway and saw Mikey laying motionless inside a dumpster. Leo was the first to the fire escape, sliding down quickly, and was by his mate’s side in a flash. There was a large bump on the side of Mikey’s head and a trickle of blood had covered his face and made a small puddle underneath him.

Lifting his mate into his arms Leo took off running back to the lair as fast as he could. Don and Raph were right on his heels. Don knew that he needed to get to the medical bay fast to get everything set up so that he could look Mikey over and check to see if he would be okay. It was just so hard to get over how fast their evening of heaven had gone to Hell.


	239. Strain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 26th - Hell

Don frowned as he stared down at his unconscious brother. It was now technically a new day but still very early in the morning and Mikey still hadn’t woken up since his fall the night before. Don felt exhausted. He hadn’t slept since they got back to the lair because he had been looking after his brother.

Mikey was currently laying completely still on the cot in the med lab. He had quite a few wires attaching him to different machines monitoring his heartbeat and other vital signs. Seeing their youngest brother like this was Hell for all of his older brothers.

Other than the fact that he was unconscious with a bump the size a goose egg on the side of his head all of his vitals looked fine. This wasn’t good enough for Leo however. From the moment he had set Mikey down on the cot he had constantly been hovering over Don’s shoulder demanding updates on his mate’s health.

Don completely understood how Leo was feeling. If it was his mate laying on the cot unconscious than he would probably be freaking out too. As it was however Leo’s hovering was making a difficult job even harder. Don was nearly tripping over him every time he tried to move and it was beginning to get on his nerves.

“How is he Don?” Leo asked as he moved to Mikey’s side and took one of his hands in his own.

“He’s the same as he was the last time you asked me five minutes ago,” Don answered trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. “His breathing and heart rate are fine. He’s unconscious but his pupils are reacting to light. He should wake up as soon as his body has recovered from the fall.”

“When will that be?” questioned Leo without looking up from the closed off face of the turtle laying next to him.

Don closed his eyes and counted to ten to keep his irritation under control. “I can’t tell you that Leo,” Don frowned. “It’s all up to his body and when it’s ready to wake up.”

Raph had been standing against the wall and out of the way watching everything and assisting when necessary. He could see that Leo wasn’t too thrilled with Don’s last answer. As Leo opened his mouth to keep questioning Don Raph stepped away from the wall and ran interference.

“Hey Leo why don’t we go for a walk for a minute?” Raph suggested before Leo could continue getting on Don’s nerves. “We won’t leave the lair so Don can yell for you if anything changes with Mikey. When he wakes up he’s going to want someplace to rest so let’s get that ready for him.”

Leo was about to protest but one glance at Don’s face convinced him otherwise. With slight reluctance Leo released Mikey’s hand and placed a tender kiss on his forehead before leaving the room with Raph. As they walked out Raph looked back once to see the grateful smile that Don’s flashed at him.

Leo headed straight to Mikey’s room and started pulling off some of his favorite blankets and pillows to take to his own room. There was no way that he was letting his mate out of his sight for a while after this accident.

Raph helped Leo settle everything onto his bed and smooth out the new blankets. He tried to offer his comfort by just being there knowing that Leo wouldn’t want to talk while he was still so worried about Mikey’s condition.

“Leo!”

Don voice reached them up in Leo’s room and caused his head to whip around. Raph was left in the dust as his older brother jumped from the second level down to the first and ran back to the medical bay. By the time Raph got back there Leo was at Mikey’s side while the orange banded turtle’s eyes were fluttering open trying to focus on what was going on around him.

Walking over to where Don was standing Raph wrapped his arms around Don’s middle and pulled him close. Mikey’s injury had shaken him almost as much as Leo. He could imagine the Hell that Leo must be going through. It was exactly how he would be feeling if it was Don that was hurt.

Don leaned into Raph’s hold and allowed himself to relax for the first time since getting home. Last night and this morning had been incredibly stressful and he was glad to see that Mikey was out of the woods now. Neither he nor Raph were going anywhere any time soon. Right now they all just needed to be together and relish the safety of their family.


	240. Thank You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 27th - Rose

The first thing Raph did when he woke up was to pull Don closer into his arms and snuggle up as close as he could get without actually laying on top of him. Normally he wouldn’t describe himself as a huge snuggling kind of a guy but there were a few exceptions. When he was still tired from being up for almost two days straight was one of those times.

Master Splinter had been kind enough to cancel morning practice for today. Mikey wouldn’t have been able to participate anyway with his head injury and the rest of them were too tired from staying up to take care of him that they wouldn’t have been able to perform well in practice anyway.

The feeling of his mate’s strong arms wrapping tightly around him just caused Don to give out a tiny snort and tuck his head under Raph’s chin. He was quite comfortable right where he had been but he wasn’t about to complain too much about this slightly new position.

As far as they were both concerned, unless it was lunch time, it was too early to be up and doing anything. Their stomachs disagreed with them however when they started rumbling to let them know that they hadn’t eaten anything since the day before.

Before Raph could suggest that they both get up and enjoy a quiet breakfast together Don was already mustering his forces in order to stay in the nice warm bed. As soon as Raph looked down to speak to him Don started giving him the best puppy dog eyes that he could manage. He considered throwing in a trembling lip but thought that it would be over kill.

“Want me to bring you a cup of coffee?” Raph asked sighing playfully.

“Please,” Don said giving Raph a large smile as a reward for figuring out what he wanted without having to ask. “I think my coffee cup is still in the lab from yesterday when I had to stay up all night.”

Raph wasn’t gone for very long. He was guessing that someone had already been up earlier because there was a nice fresh pot of coffee waiting for him in the kitchen when he got there. The surprise came when he went to the lab to grab Don’s favorite coffee cup.

When he returned to their room he was carrying two cups of coffee, some toast, and a beautiful red rose that he had found sitting next to Don’s cup.

“What’s the rose for?” Don asked sitting up in bed a bit and taking the drink and flower out of Raph’s hands.

“I’m not sure. It was sitting by your cup when I went into your lab,” Raph answered. “There’s a note attached so maybe that will explain it.”

Don flipped open the note while he sipped at his drink. “It’s from Leo,” Don explained. “He wanted to thank me for taking care of Mikey. He had gotten him some roses to cheer him up over being bedridden for the next few days and thought I might like one as a thank you.”

“Huh,” Raph said noncommittally.

“I still like the carnations that you got me after our first fight better though,” Don teased.

“Good,” Raph smiled back jokingly as he handed over a piece of toast and they both settled down to enjoy a nice quiet morning together.


	241. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 28th - Picture

It was early afternoon and Don was typing away at his computer in his medical lab. He had insisted that Mikey come in every day to get his head checked out and he had just gotten Leo to drag him in.

Mikey never minded the being waited on part of being injured. It was the poking and prodding that he got from Don that he didn’t care for. Especially the needles. This time though with just a head injury Mikey wasn’t forced to confront that particular fear.

While Don did keep some physical copies of all of their medical files it was far easier, more convenient, and more practical to have everything backed up on a computer file. It was a hassle to constantly be transferring things back and forth so he tried to get everything on the computer to start with and make copies later when he had time.

Mikey was sitting still on the edge of the cot where he had been brought the night that he received his head wound. He was trying to be patient by swinging his feet back and forth while Don worked but he was quickly becoming bored from just sitting there.

With nothing better to do Mikey let his eyes wonder around the room to look at the many different items that Don kept stacked throughout the room. There were the obvious pieces of medical equipment that had their own place and spare parts that Don used to repair items around the lair.

There was one thing that stood out to Mikey though. It was a square metal box that sat on the edge of Don’s desk that Mikey had never really noticed before. It was closed but not locked and was taking up precious space on Don’s desk but wasn’t overflowing with different gadgets that Don always seemed to need.

“Don, what’s in that box?” Mikey asked point to the object that had peaked his curiosity.

Looking up from what he was typing, Don glanced around to see what Mikey was talking about. Eventually his eyes settled on the box that Mikey was pointing at. A slight flush appeared on his cheeks at the thought that his youngest brother would probably tease him about what was in it.

“It’s something that I started months ago,” Don began explaining. “It’s a time capsule of different things from mine and Raph’s relationship together.”

When Mikey didn’t start laughing at him Don picked up the box and moved over to sit next to his brother. Opening the lid he showed some of the things to Mikey. Occasionally Mikey would pick something up to take a closer look at it but was always carefully not to damage anything.

“That’s odd,” Mikey commented with a slight frown on his face.

“What’s odd?” Don asked curiously.

“There’s no picture of you and Raph in here,” elaborated Mikey. “You have all of these little things that I’m sure mean a lot to you but not actually the two of you.”

Don took a closer look into the box and noticed that his little brother was right. Of all the things that were in there, there wasn’t a single picture of him and Raph together.

It was true that they didn’t have a lot of pictures of any of them for fear of someone finding them but it wasn’t completely unheard of considering Master Splinter had been taking pictures of them as babies. Don would have to talk to Raph as soon as he was done with Mikey and begin working on remedying this situation.


	242. Peaceful Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 29th - Forsake

The majority of the day had come and gone and it was now the middle of the evening. Everyone was in separate rooms doing their own things much like they had been for most of the day previously. It had just been one of those days were everyone just wanted and needed their own space to do whatever they wanted.

Don was currently at his computer researching new techniques for treating head injuries. Mikey’s injury four days ago had scared him. He knew how to reset broken bones and stitch together ripped and torn skin. Once he got beyond that to more internal injuries Don quickly got out of his depths and he wasn’t okay with that. As the family medic and doctor he needed to know how to deal with those kinds of problems and he intended on remedying that.

Raph was spread out across the couch watching a wrestling match that was on tv tonight. Casey had offered earlier to have Raph come up to his apartment and watch it with him. Raph had forsaken the offer in favor of remaining in the lair with his family even if he didn’t plan on interacting with them a lot.

Master Splinter had headed to his room soon after dinner to get in some evening meditation. Mikey was in the kitchen enjoying a bowl of ice cream and Leo had retreated to the dojo to practice some katas before going to bed.

The night was quiet and peaceful with everyone enjoying their own activities. This was coming to an end very shortly though. When Mikey finished with his snack his feet took him into the dojo to join his mate. He might not have been able to spar during practice but he could still run through katas that they had all learned as young children.

Bringing a hand up Don rubbed at his tired eyes. When he brought his hand back down he took the opportunity to look around the lair and see where everyone was and what everyone else was up to. It was getting late and Don was starting to get tired of being on his computer and wanted a little company.

With a giant yawn that threatened to crack his jaw, Don started closing down the search engine he had been using for the night. Standing up with a large stretch he made his way over to Raph and came up behind him. Gently Don wrapped his arms around Raph’s shoulders and nuzzled against his neck.

This got Raph’s attention and he sat up so that he could return Don’s embrace and nuzzle him back. When Don pulled away Raph gave him a curious look. Tilting his head to the side Don directed Raph’s attention to the dojo.

Standing up Don pulled Raph with him and started towards where their other brothers were working out. Forsaking the tv Raph followed right behind his mate. They had all done separate things throughout the day but practicing katas together would be a nice way to end the night before heading off to bed.


	243. Interruptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 30th - Want

Lunchtime found Don back at his computer. He had promised Mikey that the bandage that he had wrapped around his head could be removed today. Don wanted to check on longer term effects of head injuries before he gave Mikey a clean bill of health though.

It wasn’t the first time that Mikey had received a concussion. In their lives getting hurt on the battlefield was inevitable. The effects of a concussion were magnified with each additional concussion a person received and Don still wanted to make sure that he did everything he could to prevent long term damage.

Don had researched this kind of information in the past but that didn’t stop him from worrying every time one of his brothers got hurt. He wanted to make sure that he had the most up to date information every time he needed to fulfill his role as the family medic.

Raph didn’t mind when Don checked out for a while as he sought answers that he felt were important to the safety and wellbeing of their family. What Raph took issue with was when Don took it to the extreme and constantly kept researching because he was second guessing himself and what he had already done.

As far as Raph was concerned he was going to put a stop to it here and now. The trick was having to take an indirect route. If he tried to just pry Don away from the computer he would put up a big fuss and fight to stay there even harder.

What Raph needed to do was make Don want to leave his research all on his own. Raph knew just the way to do that too as he sauntered into the lab and closed the door behind him.

Don barely registered the presence of another person in the room. He glanced to the side long enough to identify Raph before turning back to what he had been doing. This worked perfectly for Raph.

Continuing over to where Don was sitting Raph started running his hands over his mate’s shoulders and working out the tension that had gathered there. Don just sighed and leaned into the touch but didn’t stop working. Allowing his hands to travel farther down Don’s body Raph replaced them with his mouth and left gentle kisses and nips along his neck.

While he was doing this his fingers played along the inside of Don’s thighs as his legs widened subconsciously. This gave Raph plenty of room to drag his fingertips across Don’s rapidly growing slit that housed his cock. With the heat that was now flooding through his body Don couldn’t concentrate on the computer anymore and leaned back completely into Raph’s touch.

Just as Don released himself into Raph’s teasing hand with a low moan of want the door to the lab burst open and Mikey came dancing in.

“I here to get my bandages taken off,” Mikey sang, trailing off near the end when he saw what his brothers were currently occupied with. “Then again I can always come back when you aren’t so busy.”

Turning around Mikey nearly ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. As much as he loved his brothers, there were just some things that he didn’t want to see.


	244. Second Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 31st - Embrace

The clouds covering the sky above the city were threatening rain as Raph and Don jumped from roof to roof. Mikey still got a little dizzy if he moved too quickly so couldn’t be out on patrol yet and Leo had stayed behind in the lair with him. Since they were alone on patrol tonight Raph and Don had opted to stay together since there was strength in numbers.

They had been out for a couple of hours and were just starting to think about heading back home when something caught their eyes. There was a group of Purple Dragons standing together on a street corner watching a young woman walk down the sidewalk.

Hesitantly one of the young men from the Purple Dragon group broke apart and started stalking after the girl. As Don and Raph watched it soon became apparent that the lone man wasn’t a Purple Dragon yet and that this was probably some sort of initiation for him.

Carefully they followed behind the Purple Dragon wannabe as he followed his target. The perfect solution was if they could catch him before he made a move to attack the woman and stop this potential mugging before it occurred and someone got hurt.

The perfect opportunity presented itself as a lamplight flickered out just as the man was walking under it. Knowing there probably wouldn’t be a better opportunity Don leapt from the roof down onto the pavement and grabbed the guy slamming him into the alley wall.

“I would highly suggest that you don’t go through with what you were about to do,” Don threatened in a low voice.

The guy’s eyes widened in fear as he was held firmly in place by Don’s strong hands. It wasn’t the least bit comforting to him when Raph seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“You’re walking into a whole mess of trouble if you join the Dragons kid,” Raph warned as he not so subtly ran his fingers over the handles of his sais. “This is your only warning. Turn back now before it’s too late.”

With that Don released the guy and stepped back. As soon as Don was out of his way the guy took off running away from both the woman that he had been stalking and the group of Purple Dragons that he had arrived with.

“So do you think he’ll listen?” Raph asked as he lifted a conveniently located manhole cover and started down into the sewers.

“If he’s lucky he’ll embrace this second chance,” Don hoped out loud. “Once he was in the Dragons there would be no getting out so for his sake I hope he listens.”

It was about a fifteen minute walk before they got back to the lair and they were both tired by that point and just wanted to go to bed. Before they could do that they headed to the bathroom to share a quick shower together just to wash off the grime from being topside.

The hot shower left them warm and relaxed and they barely made it back to their room as their eyes started becoming too heavy to keep open. Once they were snuggled under the covers and in each other’s embrace they allowed themselves to drift off to sleep and into the embrace of their dreams.


	245. Growing Fonder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 1st - Apart

As much as Don and Raph loved spending time together they also needed time apart as well. Apart was how they planned on spending most of today. While they could easily have spent the whole day in each other’s company without getting bored it was important that they do their own things from time to time. They needed to be their own people in order to still function well as a couple.

After breakfast Don had headed over to Leatherhead’s to help out his friend with a project that he was working on and Raph met Casey at his apartment to watch a college football game. Both plans were going to last almost all of the day so they probably wouldn’t see each other until dinner that night.

Don’s trip over to Leatherhead’s home wasn’t very long and was pretty uneventful. When he arrived there his friend had already started work on his project and was sitting at his desk hunched over a microscope. Don wasted no time in joining his friend at the desk where some equipment had already been laid out for him.

“I’m surprised that you aren’t using a day where you have few requirements in the way of ninja training to spend with Raphael,” Leatherhead commented as he continued to gaze into the microscope in front of him.

“As much as I love him we do need some time apart,” Don said as he looked over some of the samples that Leatherhead had prepared. “I love him to death but I have no desire to spend most of the day watching football and Raph wouldn’t have the patients for what we’re doing. We each need time to cultivate our own interests. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

The rest of the day passed by very uneventfully and soon it was time for Don to return back to the lair. When he got home he saw that he had beaten Raph back and that Mikey was in the kitchen beginning to prepare dinner. With nothing better to do Don joined his youngest brother and started laying out the place settings on the table when they were shortly joined by Raph.

Seeing each other for the first time since breakfast was like coming home to your loved one after a long and tiring day at work. As Don set the final plates onto the kitchen table Raph walked over and slid his arms around Don’s waist and pulled him close.

The kiss that Raph placed on Don’s lips was deep and passionate. Through that simple gesture he poured in all of his love that he had for his mate. The kiss wasn’t one of desperation for having missed his lover for so long but just to show him and anyone that might be around just how much he cared. Don’s eyes were partially glazed over when they finally pulled away in order to breathe.

“Maybe we should spend more days apart if that’s the reaction I’m going to receive when you get home,” Don panted lightly.

“That’s one idea,” Raph agreed playfully while whispering in Don’s ear without ever releasing his arms from around his mate. “But we both have to be present for me to show you how much I missed you today.”

The lust shining in Raph’s eyes gave Don a pretty good idea about what Raph had in mind. The only downside was that dinner was about to start and training was after that so it would be a while before he could take Raph up on his offer. There was no way that he was going to let him forget it though.


	246. Uno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 2nd - Wild Card

The honed and sharpened skills of ninjitsu were something that had been a part of the terrapin brothers’ lives since they were young children. Those hard earned skills were all thrown out the window however when it came to fighting on the tv remote on a Sunday morning after breakfast.

Tripping, bandana pulling, and elbow jabs to the chin were all fair play when it came to being in control of the remote and therefore the tv for the day. It was an opportunity that none of them wanted to go without if they could help it.

None of them had counted on Master Splinter wanting the remote for himself and putting an end to their four way battle for dominance. Using his cane to grab the remote, Master Splinter banished his sons from the living room if they couldn’t be quiet so he could watch his stories.

After the grumbling had settled down and the four of them came to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t be watching anything any time soon they started discussing what they could do instead. After throwing a few ideas back and forth they finally settled on playing Uno in the kitchen.

Raph was the first to sit down at the table with Mikey taking the seat to his left. Raph fully expected Don to take the free seat to his right and so was surprised and a little disappointed when he sat down across from him instead. Don saw his mate’s confused look and gave him a reassuring smile to let Raph know that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Leo took the remaining empty seat and shook the cards out of their container. He was the de facto shuffler and dealer of any decks of cards that they used for any game. The rest of his brothers were known to try and cheat. Even Don had been caught using sleight of hand every now and again to gain an advantage in a game that he really wanted to win.

The cards were dealt and their game of Uno began. After a few spins around the table Raph finally realized why Don sat across from him instead of beside him the first time he laid down a skip card.

Instead of Leo receiving his normal turn he was skipped over in favor of Raph. This added a completely new element to the game that no one had thought of yet. They could work in teams as well as individuals to take down their other brothers. This didn’t mean that they weren’t in it to win it for themselves though.

Two reverses, another skip, and three draw twos came and went. The cards in the deck were starting to dwindle. Don and Mikey’s hands were starting to shrink while Leo and Raph’s seemed to keep growing.

When Don got down to two cards he knew that he could possibly win the game. The challenge would be that he was now a big target from his brothers to prevent just such an outcome. Subtly he caught Raph’s eye in the hopes that he could illicit his help. The barest of nods showed his agreement.

With a large grin Don threw down a wild card, chose red for the color of the cards, and declared Uno. Leo drew a red three from his hand and placed it on the deck hoping that Mikey might be able to do something to stop Don.

It wasn’t meant to be because Raph put down a red skip card which meant Mikey never had a chance to stop Don before he placed down his last red card from his hands. Jumping up from his chair Don began a victory dance around the kitchen crowing at his achievement. He may not have been able to secure the tv remote but he had at least asserted his dominance in a simple card game.


	247. Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 3rd - Walls

If the walls of Don and Raph’s room could talk it would have many stories to tell. Ever since they got together and started their relationship most of those stories would be X rated. Tonight would be one of those nights that would get a high rating.

Together they had headed upstairs to bed but sleeping was the last thing on Don’s mind tonight. As soon as the door was closed and locked Don spun Raph around to face him and claimed his lips in a searing kiss.

Raph wasn’t quite sure what had gotten Don all worked up but he wasn’t about to stop and ask as he fought Don’s tongue for dominance in his own mouth. Don wouldn’t be denied though and pushed Raph back against the wall with a loud clack.

With a moan of building lust, Raph relaxed under Don’s hold and let him lead. While Raph may have been the more dominant of the pair in most circumstances he also liked to let go and give control over to Don. Don for his part enjoyed occasionally stepping up and taking what he wanted and right now what he wanted was Raph.

When they finally had to come up for air Don used that opportunity to pull them away from the door and deeper into the room. Even though Don had sound proofed the walls when they started hearing Leo and Mikey having sex next door he didn’t want to take the chance of anyone hearing them. After all, he planned on making Raph scream his name.

As they made their way to the bed they divested each other of the few clothing items that they wore leaving a trail to the door so that they could find their way out in the morning. Once they reached the bed Raph let himself fall back while Don crawled up in between his spread legs.

Don attached his mouth to the bulging slit that was trying to keep Raph’s growing erection contained. With expert licks and sucks he had his prize tumbling into his mouth in under a minute. While Don was worshipping the cock in front of him he allowed copious amounts of saliva to drip down to Raph’s tight entrance to use as lube.

The prep was quick but thorough enough that Raph wouldn’t be hurt. In no time at all Don was up on his knees and thrusting into his mate’s tight body. Raph let out a short cry of combined pain and pleasure and grabbed the headboard to give himself some leverage.

In an effort to make Raph forget about the pain of using saliva instead of proper lube Don rubbed at his hip bones where he knew his mate was extra sensitive. This caused Raph’s world to explode into stars as he bucked his hips up seeking more pleasure from Don.

As Raph kept squirming and clenching around Don’s dick, Don let himself go and began slamming into Raph hard enough to shake the bed and send it banging against the wall. This fast pace was too much for both of them and soon they were climaxing with Raph yelling out Don’s name.

With a happy sigh Don pulled out of Raph and laid down beside him as the afterglow of their coupling washed over them. Slowly they came down from their high and began to feel the tiring consequences of such a late night activity. Rolling over so that Raph was wrapped around Don’s shell they closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	248. Mischief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 4th - Relief

When morning dawned it was with lazy stretching and sighs of contentment. A nice romp in the hay always made for a restful night’s sleep after they exhausted themselves. This meant that that they were nice and refreshed and ready to go with Raph’s sore ass being the only lingering issue.

By the time they finally pulled themselves away from each other and out of the bed they knew they would be cutting it close if they wanted to have breakfast before morning practice began. By the time they made it down to the kitchen Mikey was already sitting at the table waiting for them.

As Raph and Don moved around getting their coffee, cereal, and toast to eat they could feel Mikey’s eyes following them. By the time all three of them were sitting together at the table eating their food the couple was feeling a small amount of relief they maybe they hadn’t been heard last night.

That relief was dashed when they looked up to see the Cheshire cat grin that had taken up residence on the prankster’s face. That one look told them that Mikey knew something embarrassing about them and that he was about to tease them mercilessly about it and they had a feeling they knew exactly what it was.

“Sooooo,” Mikey drew out what he was saying. “Did you too have fun last night? It sure sounded like it from where I was trying to sleep.”

Both Don and Raph felt their cheeks being painted with a dull red of embarrassment at being heard while they were making love.

“How did you hear us?” Don asked once he was able to regain his composure. “I sound proofed the walls around our room months ago. You shouldn’t have been able to hear anything.”

Mikey burst out laughing at how uncomfortable his older brothers looked and Don’s attempt to divert his attention away from his original question. It wasn’t often that he could make both of them squirm at the same time and he was relishing every moment.

“Dude I didn’t have to hear Raph screaming to know what you guys were doing,” Mikey laughed. “The sound of the bed thumping against the wall that connects your room to Leo’s was enough to keep us up and let us know what you were doing.”

Raph was starting to move from embarrassed to annoyed. That annoyance was building up and if Mikey wasn’t careful than he would need to start running before Raph jumped across the table and started pounding on him.

Don felt a wave of relief when he saw Leo walk into the room to get them to come to the dojo so they could start practice. His relief was dashed once again when he saw a grin on Leo’s face that matched the one on Mikey’s.

“Oh Dooon,” Leo pretended to moan out to tease him.

Leo turned and ran back to the dojo as Don jumped up from his seat and gave chase. Mikey laughed at his mate’s plight for a moment before noticing that it left him all alone in the room with Raph. Mikey noticed the mischievous look that Raph was giving him before he jumped up himself and ran after Leo hoping for protection. At this rate it was going to be a long day.


	249. Cold to Hot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 5th - Doors

Having spent the past few nights cooped up in the lair Raph and Don were looking forward to going topside in order to run to the junkyard and go treasure hunting. Mother Nature had other plans however. It had been lightly drizzling all day which normally wouldn’t have stopped them but the thunder storm that had moved across the city in the past hour would.

The door to the sewers slammed closed behind Raph as he and Don made their way back into the lair soaking wet. Having only expected the drizzle they brought no protection with them when they went topside and ended up getting caught out in the open when the skies opened up.

All they wanted at this point was to get rid of their wet gear, dry off with a towel, and maybe have something hot to drink to try and warm themselves up. Walking through a cold tunnel system while water dripped off of them was a recipe for disaster.

Leo and Mikey were in the dojo practice sparring together and hearing the sound of the slamming door made it so that neither of them intended on coming out any time soon.

After they were sufficiently dried off and their wet gear was placed with the rest of the laundry they decided to forgo the hot drink for the moment and headed into the living room. Together they sat down on the couch and stared at the blank television screen.

“This really sucks,” Raph grumbled to himself.

“Well you know the saying, ‘whenever one door closes another one opens’,” Don said with a casual shrug of his shoulders trying to make the best of the situation.

“Yeah? Well where exactly does this new door lead too?” Raph asked as he slouched down on the couch and pouted his unwilling house arrest.

Don moved from his current seat until his was straddling Raph’s lap. Slowly he leaned forward making sure to press his bodily fully against that of his mate’s and forcing Raph to grab a hold of his hips to try and anchor himself. Crossing his arms on top of Raph’s collarbone Don brought his mouth just an inch away from Raph’s lips.

“I was thinking that the first door could lead to the bathroom,” Don said giving Raph small kisses every few words. “We could take a nice, hot shower to really warm ourselves up and get all nice and clean. And then we could go through a second door into our bedroom where we can get all dirty again.”

Raph moaned into Don’s kissed and just pulled him even closer. “I really, really like that idea Don,” Raph told him. “We just need to get off the couch first.”

“That would be a good starting point,” Don agreed as he deepened the kiss and rocked his lower plastron into Raph’s dragging a rumbling churr out of him.

They may have made a plan to warm up but right now they seemed to be generating enough of their own heat themselves. It wasn’t until Leo and Mikey ended their practice and walked back into the living room that they finally pulled away from their heated embrace.


	250. Damsel in Distress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 6th - Loyalty

Having been unable to properly scavenge through the junkyard last night Don was there again tonight trying to see if he could find anything that could be used in the lair or for his and Raph’s business. There wasn’t a whole lot that they needed at the moment but it was always good to have some back up material waiting.

Don was alone as he walked through the piles of junk. Raph would have accompanied him but Mikey had gotten under his skin in practice this morning and he had gone a little too far in getting back at him. In response Master Splinter had grounded him to the lair or the garage for the next three days as punishment.

Over the past two hours that Don had been searching he had found a few interesting knickknacks and other small useful items that he had filled his bag with. He knew that if he kept looking he could probably find more but his duffle was starting to feel heavy so he decided to head back to the lair for the night.

It was a nice night out so Don had planned ahead and thought to wear his human disguise so he could walk along the sidewalks for a while before returning to the sewers. The roads weren’t very crowded at this time of night so there wasn’t too much worry that someone might bump into him and notice that there was something off about his shape.

The one thing about there not being too many people was that it made the ones there were stand out even more. The prostitute standing on the street corner two blocks ahead of Don was just one example which made it stick out to Don when a men came up behind her and starting accosting her and herding her back into a nearby alleyway.

While Don may not have personally agreed with the profession he wasn’t about to let a women be harmed just because he didn’t like how she made her living. He had been raised better than that. Carefully Don placed his bag behind a dumpster where it wouldn’t be found and crept up to the alley.

Creeping up behind the pair Don waited to see if his assistance would be needed before he got involved with something that may not require his help. He came in halfway through the conversation but it was very clear that the woman wasn’t happy.

“I just told you, I don’t do that so unless you want something else that I do offer, you can take a hike,” the hooker told the guy firmly.

The gentleman didn’t seem to like this answer and moved towards the woman in a threatening manner. Don wasn’t about to stand around much longer. Silently he stalked up behind the man making sure to stay in the shadows and grabbed onto his arm just as he was about to strike out at the woman.

“That’s not very nice,” Don warned in a low, intimidating voice. “I strongly suggest that you take the woman’s advice and leave now before this gets ugly.”

The man looked back over his shoulder and could only see a menacing figure cloaked in shadows. Thinking better of his previous decisions he pulled his arm out of Don’s grasp and started backing up with his hands held up palms out in a surrender gesture. As soon as he got back to the street he turned tail and ran.

“Thank you,” the prostitute said to Don as soon as the men had left. “I really appreciate what you did for me. Is there anything I can do to thank you properly for your help?”

The tone of her voice left little question in Don’s mind about what she was talking about as a thank you.

“No thanks,” Don said hastily. “I’m already involved with someone and I want to remain loyal to him so I don’t think it would be such a good idea.”

“Loyalty is very important,” the woman agreed. “Your guy better treat you right cause he’s lucky to have someone like you.”

“He does,” Don said as he started backing out of the alley. “And I’m just as lucky to have him.”

Once he was sure that the woman was safe Don excused himself and made his way back down the street to grab his bag. As soon as he had that in hand Don made his way to the nearest manhole cover so he could quickly get back to the lair. At this point topside had lost some of its appeal and he just wanted to get home to his mate.


	251. Bad Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 7th - Monster

Raph grumbled under his breath as he made his way by himself into Don’s lab. Don had gone up to the garage to work on a project a few minutes ago but Raph was stuck down in the lair.

When Don got up to go to the garage Raph had considered following after him since his grounding didn’t include the garage. The problem was that Master Splinter had intended that to be with the unstated understanding that he only go up there if Don needed help with a project and Don hadn’t asked for his assistance.

Raph had briefly considered going up anyway but the mild glare that Leo was sending his way made him decide not to. Normally Raph would have just ignored him and done whatever he wanted but Raph knew that Leo had every reason to be annoyed with him. He had gone too far with Mikey and he knew it and knew that he deserved this punishment.

Since he couldn’t be up in the garage with his mate Raph figured the next best thing would be to be in the lab finding something to work on in there. Over the past few days of them being there things had gotten a little disorganized and it needed to be straightened up. This also included finding a home for all of the things that Don had brought home last night.

As Raph cleared off some of the papers that littered Don’s desk his eyes caught on a schematic that was buried under a bunch of other papers. He wasn’t sure what about it had caught his eye until he held it up and saw that it was the design for the container that had held Don when he went through his second mutation due to the mutant outbreak.

That was one of the worst times in Raph’s life. He and Don hadn’t been a couple then but Raph had been starting to realize his deeper feelings for his brother and that had made everything especially difficult for him.

That was part of the reason that Raph still partially blamed himself for Don becoming infected in the first place. He was the one that threw Don into the path of the man bug hybrid that cut Don and infected him. Logically Raph knew that there was nothing else that he could have done and that was the only place to throw Don at the time to keep him from getting seriously hurt. That didn’t always help with the guilt though.

Watching his brother, someone that he secretly loved more than was proper, turn into a monster tore at Raph’s heart. That was why when Don broke free of his containment in Bishop’s laboratory Raph had been the first to jump after Don so that he could protect him and try to keep Bishop from hurting him.

It was also why Raph was secretly happy when Leo volunteered to be the one to shoot Don with the tranquilizer darts. Part of Raph felt like he should be the doing that so he could protect Don from getting more hurt than he already was. A larger part of Raph was however grateful that he didn’t have to be the one to cause Don any more pain.

Carefully Raph laid the piece of paper back down where he had found it and turned to look at the new things that Don had brought in. The monster that his mate had temporarily become was in the past now and was only a bunch of bad memories.


	252. Going Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 8th - Intuition

There was something going on with Donnie. Raph knew it, he just couldn’t prove it. After a lifetime of being a ninja he had learned to trust his intuition. It was the only thing that had saved his life and allowed him to return home in one piece on a few occasions.

Right now Raph’s intuition was telling him that Don was up to something that he wasn’t sharing. He wasn’t quite sure what it was that Don was hiding and he didn’t know if he should be offended or not that Don apparently didn’t want to tell him.

Even before they became a couple Raph had been the one that Don would come and share his secrets with. Raph had always felt so special but now Don was keeping this to himself. After breakfast had finished this morning Don had placed a quick kiss on his cheek before disappearing back up to the garage saying that he still had work to do on his project.

Since then Raph had been tempted more times than he could count to get up and follow his mate. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Donnie. He had just gotten so used to being Don’s partner in his projects that it was driving him crazy to be left in the dark.

Right now Raph was sitting on the couch trying to distract himself with a motorcycle racing magazine. It would have worked too if Mikey and Leo weren’t sitting on the other end of the couch.

Typically Raph wouldn’t have considered himself a paranoid person. In this instance though, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his oldest and youngest brothers were out to get him. Mikey must have been rubbing off on their leader because while they sat on the couch they also talked about their plans for the evening loud enough for Raph to hear every word.

Mikey wanted to have a date night out on the town with his lover and they were planning where they wanted to go. From which comic book store Mikey wanted to go to, to whether they should get pizza or Chinese, they made sure that Raph could hear every word.

Normally this wouldn’t have bothered Raph but it didn’t take a great leap of intuition to tell him that they were doing this just because he couldn’t leave the lair until tomorrow. As much as this annoyed Raph he couldn’t really blame his brothers for what they were doing. He would probably be doing the same thing if their roles were reversed.

Knowing that he would probably do the same thing didn’t help all that much though. Raph refused to admit defeat however and leave the couch. He had been the first to sit down here and he wasn’t about to let Leo and Mikey chase him away this easily.

The thing that was really driving Raph crazy wasn’t the brothers that he was with. He had learned years ago how to tune both of them out when he really wanted to. It was Don and his mysterious project that was driving Raph nuts. The genius could be very secretive when he wanted to be and the only thing Raph could do was wait and see what would happen.


	253. Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 9th - Indulgence

For the first time in three days Raph was allowed to go topside and run around until his heart was content and Raph fully intended on indulging in this for as long as he could. He even dragged Don away from whatever project it was that had been consuming all of his time to spend the evening with him.

Don knew how much the grounding had been getting on Raph’s nerves and so willing put away his project for the night to spend the time with his mate. He knew that now that Raph had the freedom to go wherever he wanted to they might be out for most of the night. The only reason Raph might want to come home somewhat early would be because they have practice in the morning tomorrow.

The plan for the night was for both of them to put on their human clothes, grab their helmets, get on their bikes, and just drive. Don’s only worry about taking to their bikes was that Raph might leave him in the dust in his eagerness to get away from home for a while.

Driving on a motorcycle was something that Don wasn’t unfamiliar with but driving fast just for the sake of driving fast wasn’t something that he indulged in very often. The look on Raph’s face as he revved the engine of his bike before closing the visor on his helmet told Don that his mate was really looking forward to this outing.

With no more waiting Raph shot forward out of the garage and onto the streets on New York. Don stayed behind long enough to close the garage door so that no wayward human would discover this roundabout way into their home.

The next half hour was spent weaving in and out of traffic and racing each other. Raph may have been the one that spent more time riding his bike but Don was no rookie and knew enough of the physics and mechanics to be able to give Raph a run for his money and steal the lead every now and again.

The freedom of just riding anywhere they wanted to go was exhilarating for both of them. The city was their playground and they knew every nook and cranny of it. This meant they could move amongst cars and pedestrians without worry of crashing into anything and potentially being discovered.

Eventually they came to more deserted streets and slowed down enough that they could easily ride side by side. Raph shot a glance over at his mate and watched just how at home Don looked on his bike that they had built together. As much as Raph liked Don having his own bike part of him did miss having Don’s arms wrapped snuggly around his waist as they raced through the city.

Their night of indulgence was slowly coming to an end and Raph and Don knew that they would soon need to return home if they wanted to get some sleep in if they wanted to be well rested enough to not let Leo wipe the floor with them in the morning. Raph had just gotten back the privilege of going topside and he wasn’t about to lose it so soon by performing poorly in practice.


	254. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 10th - Pretense

This afternoon found both Raph and Don back in Don’s lab working on their own projects. It was some time that they could spend together while still accomplishing things that were worthwhile. This didn’t mean that they each didn’t have their own agenda though.

Raph sat at his end of the desk looking over the wiring to the lamp that sat next to Master Splinter’s chair in the living room. When he went to turn it on this morning the light blew out and wouldn’t come back on.

The first thing Raph had tried was switching out the light bulb thinking that it had just burned out. When that didn’t work he knew that he would have to go back to the basics and see where the problem was located.

Whenever he had the chance he would try and lean over under the pretense of picking up a new tool to try and see what it was that Donnie was working on. So far he hadn’t been able to see anything that he could discern as being something new that Don was trying to complete.

Don on the other end of the table kept moving between the project that he had been working on secretly for the past few days when Raph wasn’t looking and repairing a printer for their online business whenever Raph walked by.

It wasn’t that Don didn’t want to share his secret project with Raph. In fact it would probably go along a lot faster if he did. It had just been a while since he had created something on his own for his brothers that they had no idea that he was making and that they would love playing with.

Don was aware that his secretive nature lately was starting to get under Raph’s skin and that every time he moved around in the lab and walking behind him under the pretense of stretching his legs or getting something to eat it was to try and sneak a peek at what Don was being so secretive about.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Don asked Raph as he walked behind him for the fifth time in an hour.

“What is it that you are working on that you think you can’t share with me?!” Raph unable to take it anymore and just broke down asked his mate.

Don sat back in his chair so that he could face Raph and smiled softly.

“It’s not that I don’t think I could share this with you,” Don began. “I’m actually sure that I could. It’s more that I miss being able to make things for you guys and seeing the looks of complete surprise and amazement when you see the new toy that I’ve been working on.

“If you really want to I can show it to you but I was really hoping that I could surprise you with it. It should only take a little less than a week if my calculations are correct and I really think you’ll like it.”

Raph looked into Don’s face and could see the earnest sincerity shining in his face. Quickly Raph made his way back to his seat and sat back down.

“If it means that much to you I can wait,” Raph agreed with only slight reluctance. “But if you do need any help just know that I’m here for you. No matter what it is I’m sure that I’ll like it because you made it.”

Don rolled his chair over to Raph and placed a swift kiss on his lips. “Thank you Raphie. You won’t be disappointed.”


	255. Patience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 11th - Waiting

The four turtle brothers were slightly confused when they walked into the dojo this morning. In the middle of the room sat a small vase with a single iris flower in it. Behind the flower stood Master Splinter with his hands folded on top of his cane waiting for his sons.

“Today’s lesson shall be in patience,” Master Splinter announced as his four sons entered the dojo for this morning’s practice session.

Together, acting as one mind, the boys knelt in from of their father and sensei and waited for more instructions as to what they would be expected to accomplish this morning.

A flower was not normally present in the room and anything placed in a prominent spot usually had something to do with what Master Splinter had planned for the day. They just couldn’t figure out what a flower had to do with patience.

“One at a time you will each be in charge of protecting this flower from your brothers,” Master Splinter began explaining to his students. “In order to increase the difficulty of this challenge the one protecting the flower will be blindfolded. If the blindfolded individual can protect the flower for five minutes they will considered the winner of the round. You will all be unarmed for this exercise. Leonardo, you will be first.”

Together the boys stood up from where they had been kneeling. Leo remained in the center of the room while Raph, Don, and Mikey each took their own place along the outside edge of the dojo’s large training mat.

Once Leo had his bandana spun sideways so that he could no longer see he took a guard position above the flower and waited. He knew that if his brothers wanted to win they would have to come near him. He didn’t need to move away from the flower to defend it.

Mikey was the first to move and try to get past his mate’s defenses. His footsteps were too loud and gave away his position very quickly to Leonardo who threw his brother over his shoulder and towards the far wall effortlessly.

Raph and Don each made their own attempts at procuring the flower for themselves. While they weren’t as loud as Mikey had been, they were equally unsuccessful with Leo thwarting their attempts almost as easily.

The five minutes were about halfway up and Leo had barely moved from his spot above the flower. It was at this point that Don thought of an idea that if pulled off perfectly might leave all three of the younger brothers as the victors.

Motioning to his brothers, Don signaled for them to wait. He knew that Leo could sense the time as it passed and got closer to the end of the limit. The longer the three of them waited to make their final move the more antsy Leo would become. Raph and Mikey caught on quickly to Don’s plan and followed his lead.

With only fifteen seconds remaining the waiting was up. Don motioned for Mikey to go after the flower just as he had the first time. While Leo was distracted fending off the noisy approach of his mate Raph and Don attacked at the same time.

By the time Leo had dispatched with Mikey he didn’t have time to deal with both Don and Raph. They had waited just long enough to force Leo’s hand into dealing with only one of them while they other breezed past him and grabbed the flower from the vase.

When Leo turned his bandana back around it was to see his younger brothers giving each other high threes in congratulations while Raph held the iris in his left hand. With a ruthful smile he walked over to where his brothers were standing.

“Celebrate now while you can,” Leo warned. “You each still have a turn defending the flower.”


	256. Love Notes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 12th - Rhyme

The end of practice signaled the completion of organized ninja training for the day. This didn’t mean that they could not continue on their own if they wished to do so. Both Leo and Raph were still hyped up from practice and chose to remain behind in the dojo for a friendly spar against each other.

As much as they loved their mates they also enjoyed spending time together. They were the elder brothers and sometimes they needed time to spend with each other. Leo was the leader but he also knew that in a tight pinch he could trust Raph to take control if he had to.

At the same time this gave Don and Mikey some time to spend together just horsing around as the younger brothers. Mikey had suggested that they have their own practice by killing zombies on his video game that way they would be prepared should the zombie apocalypse ever occur. He claimed that Leo was always telling them to be prepared so this was good practice.

Don had no qualms with spending the rest of the morning playing video games with his only little brothers. While Mikey was busy setting up the game Don ran to his lab to grab his spare controller. He kept it tucked away in there so there was no chance that it might accidentally get damaged in one of Mikey’s victory dances or when Mikey and Raph rough housed in the living room.

When Don got to his lab he was distracted by something out of place by his computer. Sitting on top of his keyboard was the purple iris flower that they had been using in training yesterday morning. With it was a simple white card that had been folded in half.

Carefully Don picked up the flower and held it up to sniff at it. The scent had faded a bit since yesterday but some of it still clung to the petals. As he set the flower down again he picked up the card and flipped it open.

_Roses are rd. Violets are blue. Sugar is sweet. And so are you.  
Love you Donnie-boy_

Don felt his heart melt at reading that simple little rhyme. It was old and clichéd but it meant the world to Don. Raph wasn’t big on love notes and writing down his feelings which made it even more sweet that he went out of his was to do this for Don.

Quickly Don grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down his own rhyme before folding the paper over, grabbing the controller that he had originally come into his lab for and going back out into the living room.

Later when Raph and Leo were finished sparring Raph headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower while Leo went to grab a drink of water. After Raph had removed his gear he opened the closet to grab a towel but stopped when he saw a piece of paper sitting on top. With swift fingers he opened it to read what was written inside.

_I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my Raphie you’ll be._

Raph felt his body relax at those words. He hadn’t intended to have Don write him back. He had just wanted to show Don that he cared but it was also nice to receive that kindness back. He would show Don just how much he appreciated it once he was done with his shower and all squeaky clean inside and out.


	257. Bath Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 13th - Reason

Raph couldn’t help but let of a sigh of contentment and relaxation as he slipped into the steaming hot water of his bath. He wasn’t quite sure why but he had woken up very stiff this morning with his neck and shoulders all tied into knots.

As soon as practice had ended Raph had practically run from the dojo and headed straight to the bathroom. He had originally considered a shower for the semi messaging quality of the water beating onto his shoulders but eventually decided that soaking them would be longer and had more benefits.

In an attempt to help his body relax more Raph had reasoned that pouring some of Don’s lemon scented bubble bath in wouldn’t be considered too girly. After all, he was only doing it for the relaxing scent, not to play with the bubbles.

Sinking down until only his eyes and nose were still above the water, Raph closed his eyes and tried to just let the heat of the water seep into his sore muscles. This didn’t make Raph completely unaware of his surroundings however. He had trained as a ninja for far too long for that to happen.

The slight cool breeze blowing across the top of his head alerted him to the fact that someone had opened the bathroom door and had now joined him inside. With much reluctance Raph opened his eyes to see just who it was that was disturbing him and tell them to take a hike.

The sight that met his eyes however made Raph strongly reconsider his last thought. In front of him stood a half naked Donatello who was just finishing up removing the last few pieces of his gear before walking over to the tub with a sultry sway to his hips.

“What are you doing here Donnie?” Raph asked as he sat up in the tub.

“Do I need a reason to join my lover for a nice hot bath?” Don asked in reply as he slid first one leg and then the other into the water letting it engulf his body. “I noticed that your shoulders seemed a little sore this morning and I reasoned that I might be able to help you unwind a little.”

With that Don moved so that he was sitting on Raph’s lap and captured his mouth in a warm kiss. While their mouths were occupied Don slipped his hands around to the back of Raph’s neck and just rested them there for a minute waiting for his mate to stop tensing the muscles.

Once Raph stopped tensing up Don began rubbing his hands in soothing circles all along his neck and shoulders. The wonderful sensations his mate was able to cause with his magic hands was enough to pull a low moan out of Raph that sounded almost like a churr of pleasure.

The combination of the massage, hot water, and even hotter lover were making it hard for Raph to contain his growing arousal. At first Raph wasn’t sure that Don had noticed the change in Raph’s reaction but the sudden grinding of his mate’s lower plastron against his own cleared that up for him very quickly.

“I said I was going to help you unwind,” Don answered with a sparkle in his eyes at Raph’s questioning expression.

The water was cold by the time the two of them were done in the bathroom but Raph was completely relaxed when they left.


	258. Pouting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 14th - Searching

Most of the time Raph loved the fact that he had moved into what had once been just Don’s room and was now their room. There was nothing better than falling asleep with Don wrapped safely in his arms as far as Raph was concerned. And having a sound proof room to have sex in was far more convenient than trying to sneak around to find a secluded place.

Unfortunately sharing a room also meant that there was two people’s worth of stuff in there as well. This wasn’t always conducive to finding things quickly if one did not remember exactly where they had put the item to begin with.

This was Raph’s current problem as he searched through his and Don’s room relentlessly. About a few months ago Don had repaired a small digital camera for his business and posted the ad for it online on the site.

Weeks went by and no one showed any interest. Eventually the camera had been moved out of the lab to make room for new stuff and it had somehow found its way into their room. Now someone was finally showing interest in the camera and Raph couldn’t seem to find it.

Raph wasn’t quite sure why they put it in their room but now that he needed to find it, it had disappeared. The desk drawers had already been searched through and now Raph was trying to look under the bed but couldn’t quite fit all of his bulk under there to look.

The sight of Raph down on his knees with his ass up in the air as he tried to work his way farther under the bed was what presented itself to Don when he walked into the room to see what was making all of the noise.

“What on Earth are you trying to do?” Don asked incredulously as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Raph growled a bit as he worked his way out from beneath the bed so that he could talk to Don without fear of accidently swallowing a dust bunny.

“I was searching for that stupid camera that you fixed a few months ago,” Raph explained as he brushed some dust of off him. “Someone sent an email saying that they want to buy it and now I can’t find it.”

Don calmly walked over to a box that was sitting on top of a bookshelf and took it down. Pulling the cover off Don sorted through the small items that had been repaired but no one had shown interest in yet and easily pulled out the camera in question. Raph’s jaw dropped open as Don calmly handed the camera over to him.

“You mean to tell me that this stupid thing was in that box the entire time I was tearing this room apart looking for it, including searching under the bed which is disgusting by the way.”

“You could have just asked me you know,” Don pointed out trying not to laugh.

Raph just sat on the floor in front of the bed and pouted. He had wanted to be able to find the camera on his own without having to ask for help and then Don walked into the room and picked it out with no problem. It just didn’t seem fair to him.

Raph couldn’t keep the pout up for long though when Don sat on his lap and started placing kisses along his neck and collar bone. The kisses felt too good to ignore in favor sulking which would serve no purpose. Thanking Don for finding the camera seemed like a much better idea.


	259. Chess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 15th - Pieces

With a studious expression Raph looked down at the pieces scattered on the board in front of him. Don had challenged him to a game of chess after lunch and Raph hadn’t refused. The past two days Don had gone out of his way to do something nice for him and Raph wanted to do the same.

Carefully Raph moved one of his knights towards Don’s side of the board so that it would be one move away from taking his bishop. Don knew exactly what Raph was up to and easily moved his bishop out of harm’s way putting Raph’s queen in danger.

Raph frowned at the move trying to figure out what he should do now. Chess really wasn’t his type of game. There were a few too many pieces to keep track of and each move required a lot of fore thought. He was more of an attack head on and leave the planning to Don or Leo kind of a guy.

Don was far more in his element with this game. He knew how to plan three steps ahead and so gain an advantage against at least two of his brothers. Leo was the only one that could match him when it came to planning and carrying out an attack and could win the game.

The biggest thing that Don had to watch out for with Raph was his hotheadedness. Raph could get so caught up in what was good in the moment that he could become unpredictable when Don’s mind was already three steps ahead and not as aware of what was happening in the present.

Raph didn’t know that Don thought of his unpredictableness as an asset or he might have tried to use it more instead of making such on effort to think ahead like his mate did. As it was Raph knew enough that he provided at least a small challenge for Don. Even though he knew he would most likely not win, Raph was far too stubborn to back down from a challenge.

All Raph really knew was that there was too much thinking in this game and that there were many more things that he would rather be doing. Don liked the game however and it was something that he could teach to Raph and that they could do together.

Back and forth they traded turns. Each of them lost pieces and gained ground. It soon became obvious that soon the game would be coming to an end with Don coming out as the victor.

With on final move Don blocked Raph’s king into a corner with the bishop that Raph had almost taken at the beginning of the game. With a ruthful smile Raph flicked over his piece so that it was face down and conceded the game.

“Well at least I lasted longer than last time,” Raph commented at the smile that spread across Don’s face.

“You definitely are improving,” Don complimented. “If you keep this up I might find myself on the losing end one of these days.”

Raph laughed softly at Don as they picked up the pieces so they didn’t lose any. “I think that day is quite a ways away Don,” Raph assured him. “I’ll leave Leo to beating you at this game. For now I’d rather just have fun playing with you.”

Don couldn’t help the slight shiver that travelled through his body at the double meaning of Raph’s words.


	260. Flying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 16th - Believe

One thing Raph loved about his mate was his consistent nature. Don wasn’t one to show many emotions to the extreme but that didn’t mean that he didn’t feel them. Today though was one of the days that Don couldn’t keep a gigantic smile off of his face.

Raph followed Don’s movements through the kitchen with his eyes as Don danced over to the coffee maker for a refill. It wasn’t seeing Don happy that threw Raph off. He made it his business to try his best every day to make Don happy. It was the small dance moves and the positively glowing smile that weren’t general staples of Don’s demeanor.

The thing that made this behavior even more odd was the lack of sleep that Don was working on. While they had gone to bed together at a normal hour last night, Don had still hauled himself up early in the morning. Raph would have questioned him then but he fell back to sleep before he could.

Paying a bit closer attention now, Raph noticed that Don was also humming a song and singing under his breath every now and again. This was above and beyond what Raph was used to seeing out of his mate and now his curiosity was piqued. There was no way Don was leaving the kitchen now without telling Raph why he was so happy.

“Okay spill Donnie-boy,” Raph said as Don started to try and leave the room. “What’s with the goofy smile? If I didn’t know any better I’d say you just got laid but since I don’t remember doing it and I highly doubt that you’re cheating on me that rules that out. So what is it?”

“I was just thinking about a song from Peter Pan,” Don said. “It’s the one where they figure out how to fly. All they needed was a little pixy dust.”

“I don’t quite follow you Don. Besides, fairies aren’t real,” Raph said matter of factly.

“Oh ye of little faith,” Don admonished with a smile as he walked out of the kitchen knowing that Raph would follow behind him. “Are you telling me that you don’t believe in fairies and their ability to make people fly?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I don’t believe in fairies and I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” Raph agreed.

Unquestioningly Raph followed Don through the lair and up into the garage. Over on a table was a large lump hidden under a sheet.

“This is what I’ve been working on for the past week,” Don said as he pulled the sheet off with a flourish.

On the table sat four jet packs. These ones were much sleeker and compact than the ones that they had used when they had helped out Raptarr and the Avians.

“Wow Don! These are amazing,” Raph gasped as he ran his hands over the red one. “What made you redo these when we already had some?”

“Those were only meant to be prototypes,” Don explained. “I had wanted to do more tests on them before their first use but didn’t have time since we needed to help Raptarr. Besides, I don’t believe Leo cared for the ugly little wings that were on his.”

“Better him than me,” Raph teased. “Guess I’ve got my own little Tinkerbelle right here if we’re gonna be flying.”

Don scrunched his nose up at the joke. Maybe fairies weren’t the best analogy to have used earlier. Raph wasn’t going to let it go any time soon if Don read his mate’s expression correctly.


	261. Fuel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 17th - Bitter

Ever since being shown the new and improved jet packs, Mikey had been pleading with Don to make enough fuel that they could take them out and play with them tonight. He even managed to get Leo’s approval for his plans to bug Don.

Leo didn’t exactly endorse bugging Don while he was working but he did agree with Mikey on some respects of using the new invention. As far as the leader was concerned the jet packs had the potential to become a useful tool in their arsenal when they went out on patrol. They wouldn’t only be limited to the rooftops but could fly around and more easily escape if they got into too tight of a spot.

Don couldn’t disagree with Leo’s idea for the use of the jet packs. It was after all one of the main reasons he had built the original ones to begin with.

Raph was the only one left with a bitter taste in his mouth. While he too wanted to play with the new jet packs Don had just finished making them. During that time Don had spent a lot of time away from Raph working on this project and Raph didn’t want to lose him again so quickly.

This is what led Raph to follow Don up to the garage to help him. This is where Don kept the fuel supplies that were used throughout the lair. They needed fuel for everything from the Battleshell to the shell sub and sewer slider to the new jet packs.

Going out to a gas station was out of the question most of the time for fear of discovery by humans. This made it a lot easier for Donnie when he needed to turn the gas into jet fuel. He could just refine it in the garage instead of having to go out and buy or steal it every time he needed it.

The process of changing gas into fuel compatible for the jet pack was one that would take a while. If Don concentrated on it for the rest of the day than he might possibly be able to meet Mikey’s request of using the pack on patrol tonight.

With two of them working together, since Don planned on putting Raph to work if he was going to be there, the time might be able to be reduced slightly giving them more time to do their own things that had nothing to do with the project that Don had been working on for the past week.

The only problem that they ran into was that gasoline is very flammable. A small spark from a frayed wire on the radio managed to ignite some of the gas in the air. This caused a small microburst in the form of a ball of flame to shoot up into the air until all of the gas vapor was consumed.

Raph and Don both jumped back as soon as the fire appeared. Once it was gone though they weren’t too quick to go back to the table where they were working. There was still a bitter smell that lingered in the air and got into their mouths when the breathed causing them to cough.

Continuing on was impossible at the moment so they decided to crack open a window to let the bitterness flow away while they went back down to the lair for lunch. Mikey could always wait another day to play with the jet packs if he had to.


	262. Too Early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 18th - Sweet

Raph’s eyes were barely open as he stumbled down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Don was right on his heals as they leaned on each other for support. They were both extremely tired and all they wanted at the moment was to go back upstairs to bed, not breakfast and then practice.

Yesterday they had managed to clear out the fumes in the garage and get back to work making fuel for the jet packs. They had finished just in time for evening patrol and so had put the new inventions to good use at Mikey’s persistent begging.

The only down side was that they were out to all hours of the night. They actually didn’t end up returning home past midnight into very early this morning. Mikey had a ton of fun zipping through the air, so much so that he only agreed to head home when his pack started running out of gas. They ended up having to walk the last mile back to the lair because the jet packs stopped working.

This meant that everyone only got a few hours of sleep before they had to get up for morning practice. This didn’t exactly sit well with Raph and the only reason he was looking forward to training was to hopefully get paired up to spar with Mikey and thank him for keeping them out so late.

When they got to the kitchen Don immediately headed for the coffee pot to get his shot of caffeine for the morning. Normally Don would just drink the beverage black but this morning he stirred in a few spoonfuls of sugar into the cup. He wasn’t looking to sweeten it so much as give himself an extra energy boost from the sugar to get him through practice.

As Raph took his seat at the table he was a little surprised to see Leo place a bowl of oatmeal in front of him. Usually they all fended for themselves during the weekday mornings before practice. Raph figured that this was Leo’s peace offering for being out so late and him getting so little sleep.

Raph was just about to accept the peace offering when he bit into his first spoonful. The mush that entered his mouth, while having the perfect consistency, was completely tasteless. Raph had forgotten that Leo was enough of a health nut that he never added anything to sweeten his oatmeal.

Shooting a half hearted glare at his older brother Raph stood up from the table and walked over to the cupboards. Reaching up he brought out the honey and some brown sugar to give the food a touch of sweetness to make it palatable to eat.

Using his spoon to scope in generous portions of the sweeteners, Raph locked eyes with Leo as he almost defiantly took a big bite and put it in his mouth before chewing and swallowing. Leo just smiled and shook his head and went back to eating his own bowl of oatmeal.

Don watched all of this take place with an exasperated expression on his face. While Raph and Leo had their staring contest Don just huffed to himself lightly about the foolishness of older brothers and left the room to find Mikey. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with them.


	263. Slow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 19th - Time

Night had fallen and everyone had retreated to their own rooms to rest. Rest however didn’t necessarily equal sleep for everyone. Raph and Don were enjoying this uninterrupted time to enjoy each other’s presence as well as their body. Together they laid on their sides facing each other to get as much contact as possible.

It started with soft pecks to the lips followed by deeper kisses. Hands trailed over strong muscles caressing skin that had become as familiar as their own since the beginning of the year. None of the kisses or touches were hurried or rushed. They had all the time in the world to explore and enjoy.

Heat was building and the spark of passion was steadily being fanned into a flame. Quickies were nice to take the edge off but a quick fuck wasn’t what they were after tonight. They wanted to take their time and really feel each other as they moved together tonight.

Slowly Raph moved away from Don’s mouth and down to his long neck knowing that it was very sensitive. A rough churr made its way up through Don’s chest as his body heated up under the pleasurable sensations.

To get a better angle to kiss his way down Don’s body, Raph pushed Don so that he was laying back on his carapace and moved in between his legs. This gave Raph the perfect access to do pretty much anything he could think of.

While Raph enjoyed each piece of Don’s body that was willingly given to him Don grabbed at anything that would keep his head above the crashing waves of want. Lifting his left leg up as that it wrapped around Raph’s back Don pulled him closer so that their lower plastrons could rub together generating delicious friction.

This new pressure against his already bulging slit had Raph moaning out Don’s name into his neck between churrs. The feeling of Don’s nails scraping across his carapace was making Raph’s toes curl as the vibrations travelled straight through him.

Raph decided that it was time for him to take back some control and reached for the tube of lube they had left next to the bed. Uncapping it and squirting some on his fingers, Raph made sure to tease at Don’s entrance and get him squirming before finally pushing in.

As Raph worked on stretching Don’s internal passageway Don used one hand to rub at Raph’s hip bone to make sure that he was enjoying himself to the fullest as well. Don’s other hand moved to the back of Raph’s neck and pulled him back up for a deep kiss that involved a lot of tongue.

Once Raph deemed Don to be stretched thoroughly enough he let himself drop down and coated his erection with plenty of lube. As he slowly pushed himself inside of his mate that was Don’s cue to drop into the open as well.

This led to a long session of love making. Time seemed to fall away from the pair as they move together in sync with each other. It was slow but full of emotion with their climaxes rolling powerfully over them together.

Once they were done they separated but resumed their original positions facing one another. Short, soft kisses were exchanged for a few minutes before they could no longer keep their eyes open and drifted off to sleep.


	264. Cliché

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 20th - Complete

Raph and Leo sat together in the living room waiting for their two brothers. Since Don had refused to make more fuel for the jet packs so they could use them on patrol Mikey had changed requests and begged for a movie night with the four of them when they got back home.

Raph had taken a position at the end of the couch and Leo had claimed the corner chair. Before they took their seats they had set up the tv to have the movie ready to go as soon as their mates got back from gathering snacks in the kitchen.

Working together Don and Mikey were able to complete putting together all of the snacks and drinks that they might want to have during the night. It didn’t take too long before they walked into the living room carrying two big bowls of popcorn, a bowl of assorted candies, and two cans of Pepsi for each of them.

Mikey plopped down on Leo’s lap and cuddled up to him while Donnie curled up on the couch beside Raph. As soon as Don was settled at his side Raph put his arm around Don’s shoulder and pulled him in even closer so they could snuggle together. They knew that they were running the risk of being teased by Mikey but at that point they didn’t really care especially when they could say that same thing right back at him.

As soon as everyone was settled down where they wanted to be Leo picked up the remote that was sitting beside him and started the movie. It was a clichéd romantic comedy that Mikey had picked out simply for the purpose of laughing at all of the clichéd moments.

During the slow times when nothing funny was happening Raph got a little bored and found his own entertainment in the turtle sitting next to him. Nuzzling turned to kisses and kisses turned to gentle nips and licks along Don’s neck. Don had no problem with the attention that he was receiving and merely titled his head to the side to give Raph more access.

The movie was able to recapture Raph’s attention though. The third act was drawing to a close and the main male character drew the female protagonist into his arms and whispered to her, “You complete me.”

This one line caused both Don and Raph to burst out laughing and have Leo and Mikey give them strange looks.

“What are you guys laughing at,” Mikey asked almost indignantly. “That’s such a sweet line.”

“Sweet, maybe,” Raph responded, “but it’s also totally clichéd.”

Their brothers were still giving them confused looks as to why they would find this line funny. To Leo and Mikey it was just another nice line as far as they were concerned.

“For example, it’s not like Raph completes me even though we’re together,” Don explained. “I am my own person full and complete on my own. He compliments me however with his own personality but I don’t need him to be a whole.”

“I feel the same about Don,” Raph agreed pulling said turtle closer to his body. “I can be myself without him. I want to be with him, I just don’t need to be.”

It was clear to them that while their brothers understand and did agree with them to an extent they weren’t completely convinced. This didn’t matter all that much to Raph and Don however. They knew what they meant and that’s all that mattered to them.


	265. Afternoon Delight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 21st - Broken

Don let out a sigh of exasperation as he closed the lid to his laptop. He had been trying to work on a string of codes to increase the research capacity that his laptop was capable of but his train of thought kept being broken. The problem was that he just couldn’t concentrate on the work in front of him.

After everything was closed down Don left his lab and wandered out into the main part of the lair looking for something to occupy himself with. Mikey was in the kitchen working on making lasagna for dinner later that night and Leo was in Master Splinter’s room enjoying a cup of tea with him.

This left Raph for Don to try and find to see what he was up to. The rhythmic sound of thumping led Don straight to the dojo. Over in the corner stood Raph methodically beating at his punching bag that was hanging from the ceiling. There was no anger in his punches but just the need to feel the power in his body and working out some of the excess energy that he had.

For a while Don just stood in the doorway watching his mate work out. The rivulets of sweat that trailed down his body captivated Don and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from it. He just wanted to go over there and lick the shining beads off of Raph’s skin.

“Something I can help you with Donnie-boy?” Raph asked with a smirk.

He gave one last powerful punch to the bag that sent it swinging before turning to look at Don face to face. As he stood there he made sure to strike a sexy pose that he knew would drive Don crazy. Seeing the raw look of desire that burned in Don’s eyes did wonders for Raph’s self esteem as well as his libido.

Don knew that Raph was now purposely trying to tease him but he could no longer care. The doorway wasn’t close enough anymore and Don practically flew across the room in his desire to kiss the smirk off of Raph’s face.

Raph’s arms immediately came up and grabbed onto Don’s hips in an effort to stabilize them while Don’s hands scrambled at the top of his plastron to try and pull him closer. The previous exercising that he had been doing had already heated Raph’s blood and Don’s attack was just adding to that.

With a great effort Raph pulled his mouth free form Don’s and they both panted, trying to catch their breaths.

“Why don’t we take this upstairs Donnie?” Raph asked knowing that if they didn’t go there soon he would just take his mate right here on the dojo floor.

Don nodded frantically and began pulling Raph towards their room. The door was barely closed behind before they were once again attached to each other by their mouths. With no more hesitation Raph lifted Don into his arms and moved to the bed.

There was no finesse as Raph tossed Don and himself onto the bed. What he wasn’t expecting was the loud crack and the continued descent to the floor. With groans of protest they were both able to sit up and glance over at the broken slats that had until just now been holding up the box spring that their mattress had been resting on.

Don let his head fall back onto the mattress in annoyance. It was going to take a while to find what he would need to fix the bed. Opening his eyes to look up at Raph he could see the desire still burning in his eyes and knew that it would be even longer before he could get to fixing the broken bed.


	266. Embarrassed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 22nd - Fix

Evening practice was just ending and the boys were leaving the dojo when the doors to the elevator that led up to the garage opened and April and Casey walked out. Together they were carrying three long pieces of wood.

Don had called April yesterday evening to ask her if she could bring some down today if she had the time. He needed them to fix the broken slats on his bed. He had briefly considered going to the junkyard to look for wood slats but most of the wood that he saw there was broken or rotting and weren’t what Don wanted to trust using to fix his bed.

“Hey guys,” Don greeted his friends as he walked over to take the woods from April. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“Not a problem Donnie,” April assured him.

“So what exactly do you need all of this wood for?” Casey asked.

Don could feel his cheeks flush at the question. He knew that his friend knew about his relationship with Raph but that didn’t mean he wanted to broadcast all of the sordid details. Mikey on the other hand didn’t seem to share Don’s feelings as he burst out laughing at Casey’s question.

“Don and Raph were having a little fun yesterday and broke their bed,” Mikey laughed as he explained what happened to Casey.

Casey burst into laughter at the news and even April covered her mouth with her hand to try and keep in the giggles that were escaping her. Raph who had gone to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen joined them just in time to hear Mikey’s comment and felt his own cheeks darken in embarrassment.

“The slats holding up the box spring and mattress broke yesterday unexpectedly and I needed new planks to fix them,” Don said trying to steer the conversation back into safer waters.

Casey wasn’t about to be dissuaded from teasing his friend now that he had sensed a weakness.

“So what exactly were you doing that broke a bed?” Casey asked as he threw an arm around Raph’s shoulders and pulled him close so that he couldn’t get away.

Raph wasn’t about to put up with his friend teasing him like that and shoved him away. “You know what we were doing bonehead,” Raph countered. “And if you don’t than I feel bad for April that she doesn’t have a real man to take care of her.”

This left Casey speechless with no comeback and April ducked her own head in embarrassment.

“Do you need any help cutting the pieces to size Don?” April asked trying to change the topic of conversation now that it had turned to her own love life in the bedroom. “I’m willing to lend an extra hand to help you fix your bed if you need it.”

Don was more than willing to take the offered hand to escape what he knew would soon escalate into an even more embarrassing situation knowing Raph and Casey as he did. Together Don and April lifted the wood slats and carried them up to his room to stat fixing the bed and get away for the ever increasing innuendos from their partners.


	267. Some Things Don't Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 23rd - Best Friend

Donnie allowed a small sigh of contentment to escape his lips as he pillowed his head on top of Raph’s plastron. They were swaying gently back and forth in Raph’s hammock and Don couldn’t think of anywhere else that he’d ever been so comfortable. There were still a few hours left before they should get up and start the day and Don didn’t plan on moving during any of them.

Don hadn’t been able to finish fixing their bed yesterday and so he and Raph had ended up together in the hammock last night. Working together, Don and April had been able to get all of the wood that they would need cut out. Unfortunately it wasn’t until they started installing the pieces that Don realized that one of the bolts had snapped and he couldn’t finish without it.

April had offered to stay and help Don search through his supply of tools but he had politely declined. It had been late and he knew his friend was probably tired. They had left his room and April had gathered Casey telling him that he could bother his best friend tomorrow if he wanted but it was time for them to go.

Raph gave a grunt in his sleep pulling Don from his thoughts about yesterday. Reaching up with the hand that wasn’t trapped between their bodies Don ran it soothingly over Raph’s brow. That gentle touch was enough to settle Raph back into a deep sleep.

Don smiled sleepily at Raph’s reaction to his touch. It had always been like this for the two of them ever since they were children. They had been the best of friends when they were growing up. They could almost always be found playing together and when the games ended they were never too far apart.

As children Don had been the one to temper Raph’s angry outbursts and Raph had encouraged Don to do things outside of his comfort zone. When Don would get a scraped knee in practice it was Raph that ran to get a cold cloth for him. When Raph had nightmares it was Don’s bed that he crawled into for comfort.

Looking back now Don couldn’t image how it came as such a surprise when Raph approached him about changing their already established relationship to a new level. They had already been so close that becoming lovers as well as brothers had just brought them even closer.

“Whatcha thinking about Donnie?” Raph’s voice drifted out of nowhere.

Don tipped his head back and saw that Raph hadn’t even bothered to open his eyes. “I was just thinking about us and about having been best friends when we were little,” Don answered.

“Well stop thinking. You’re supposed to be sleeping and your gears are turning so loud it’s keeping me up,” Raph yawned. “You still are by the way.”

Before Don could respond he respond Raph breath evened out and deepened once again indicating he had fallen back to sleep. Chastely Don placed a kiss over Raph’s plastron where his heart was beating strongly.

“You are too Raph,” Don whispered. “You are too.”


	268. Betrayed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 24th - Enemy

Don was sitting on the couch with Mikey playing one of his old school Pac Man games. Games were not Don’s first choice for activities for the night but he could sense a fight brewing between his two older brothers and he wanted to be close enough to diffuse a fight if there was one but far enough away that he hopefully wouldn’t be dragged into it.

“Raph I already told you. You can’t go topside tonight,” Leo told his brother angrily. “Our enemies have stepped up their own patrols and it’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t recall asking your permission to go for a drive,” Raph shot back as he stalked across the living room and towards the elevator. “They expect to see us on the roofs Leo, not driving around in the streets around other humans.”

Leo wasn’t about to just give up that easily. Picking up his pace he managed to catch up with Raph and grab onto his arm. This caused Raph to finally stop but it wasn’t a permanent solution. While Leo may have been the master in the dojo it was Raph who was the one with the most experience with street fighting in close quarters.

With a quick twist and upper cut to Leo’s shoulder causing his arm to go numb, Raph wrenched himself away and made it onto the elevator. Before Leo could try going after him again Don intervened and blocked Leo’s path.

“Just wait a minute Leo,” Don calmly told him.

“Don you know why I want him to stay in tonight,” Leo pressed on. “It’s too dangerous with so many enemies roaming around topside.”

“I know that,” Don responded. “That’s why I sabotaged both of our bikes and the Battle shell so he can’t go anywhere.”

The words had barely left Don’s mouth when the elevator doors opened again and Raph came storming out of them. Angrily he brushed past Don and shoved a finger into Leo’s chest.

“You smug, arrogant, bastard,” Raph snarled. “Ordering me to stay home isn’t good enough for you. You actually went up and messed with my bike. I swear if you damaged it in any way you’re gonna be in a world of hurt.”

This was exactly what Don had feared would happen and he quickly worked his way between his brothers before things could get even more out of hand.

“Leo didn’t touch your bike Raph,” Don interjected. “I did.”

The look of hurt and betrayal that flashed across Raph’s face cut Don deep. He knew that he had done what he needed to do to protect his mate but that didn’t mean that he wanted to hurt him.

“So you’re siding with Leo now are you,” Raph snapped. “Fine! See if I care!”

Raph didn’t waste any more time before spinning on his heels and storming upstairs to the bedroom. Don flinched when the door slammed closed behind Raph.

Slowly Mikey walked over and wrapped him arms around Don’s shoulders. “You okay Donnie?” Mikey asked softly.

“Not really,” Don answered.

Quietly Don pulled away from Mikey’s hold and made his way to his lab. He had a cot in there that he could sleep on since he got the feeling he wasn’t completely welcome upstairs. Tomorrow he would talk to Raph and work things out with him.


	269. Kiss and Make Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 25th - Scandal

Morning practice was an exercise in awkwardness. Things between Raph and Don weren’t back to normal yet, not having had a chance to talk to one another alone, but they weren’t hostile towards each other either.

When practice was over Raph disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. Don took one look at the closed door and headed straight over to the elevator and up to the garage. He knew what he had done last night was right but he hadn’t meant to make Raph so angry. One way that he could start making up for that would be restoring the bikes and the Battle shell back to their working condition.

Starting with Raph’s bike in order to earn the most good will points Don than moved on to repairing his own bike. Once that too was back in working order Don turned his attention to the Battle shell. He had only taken a few key components out of the engine but they were important and took time to replace.

It was bent over the bumper at the waist reaching into the engine with his ass in the air that Raph found Don when he finally made his own way up to the garage. Raph just stood there for a few minutes silently watching his partner work. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to talk to Don; he just didn’t know what to say.

Don knew the moment that Raph entered the room. He was a trained ninja after all and the sound the elevator arriving up top wasn’t lost on him. He made the decision to keep quiet though and let Raph come to him for fear of scaring him off if he reacted too fast.

With a gulp and a deep breath Raph started walking over to Don’s side. “Do you need a hand there Don?” Raph asked quietly.

Bracing his hands on the edge of the bumper Don pushed himself up so that he was now standing upright. Slamming the hood back down Don turned around so that he faced Raph head on. It didn’t take a genius to see the remorse on Raph’s face.

“I’m actually all finished but I wanted to apologize,” Don said. “I should have just talked to you instead of going behind you back like that.”

“No,” Raph said cutting him off. “You were only trying to protect me. I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did. I wanna make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Don said taking a step forward.

Raph closed the rest of the distance and buried his face in Don’s neck. “I know I don’t have to,” he murmured. “I want to. I even got all prepped for you while I was washing up so we wouldn’t have to waste any time.”

A strong churr of arousal made its way up through Don’s chest at Raph’s proposal. It wasn’t too difficult to coax Raph’s head up to join their lips in a smoldering kiss. Not much time passed before they were turned around with Raph pressed between Don and the van and with Don’s erection pounding away inside of him.

This was exactly how Mikey found them when he ventured up to the garage to make sure that Don and Raph hadn’t killed each other while they were left alone. While Raph didn’t mind bottoming for Don, in fact he quite enjoyed the change in their normal roles from time to time, it would cause just short of a scandal as far as Mikey was concerned. Raph’s heavy pants and flushed face were something that Mikey was going to remember and tease him about for days to come.


	270. Hypocrite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 26th - Grief

Raph knew that of his brothers he was the one with the most anger problems. He had definitely improved with harnessing that anger over the past few years and channeling it so that he didn’t take it out on his family. This didn’t mean that he was perfect and never lashed out though.

Mikey was still the king at getting under Raph’s skin and pushing him to his breaking point. Ever since he had walked in on Raph and Don having sex in the garage yesterday he hadn’t stopped giving them grief about it. He particularly enjoyed picking on Raph.

Jokes along the lines of Raph going soft to Don wearing the pants in the relationship to trying to tie Raph’s mask in a bow flew fast and furious all morning. Raph had been able to keep his temper in check all morning but he was quickly reaching his breaking point.

Messing with his mask at breakfast after practice was the last straw for Raph. The minute Mikey took hold of one of his bandana tails in his hands Raph launched himself across the table and tackled his brother to the floor.

Mikey had been expecting this reaction and managed to wiggle his way out of Raph’s arms. This was no determent for the red banded turtle who got right back up and took off after him. Mikey may usually be the fastest but Raph could keep up when he was motivated and that was definitely the case now.

Don and Leo were left standing in the doorway watching their mates running around. This wasn’t the first time they had ever witnessed but it did cause them a lot of grief with the things that had to be repaired and it could get old very fast.

“Leo,” Don whispered to his brother. “Has Mikey ever topped you in the bedroom?”

“That’s a rather personal question Don,” Leo said back. “But yeah. We’ve switched positions in the past but most of the time Mikey is on the bottom.”

Don nodded to indicate that he had heard and walked out into the living room where Mikey and Raph were running around and jumping over the couch and pool of water. Quickly he moved to stand in the center of the room where his brothers wouldn’t be able to help but notice.

“So Mikey,” Don said loudly in order to get his attention. “You’ve been going to great pains to give Raph grief about supposedly being the girl of our relationship. Well apparently the same can be said of you. You bottom to Leo most of the time. We’ve certainly heard you through the walls often enough to guess that. So should you start wearing skirts and bows too?”

Mikey and Raph froze where they were with Raph pinning his younger brother to the floor. A wide grin made its way onto Raph’s face as he smirked down at the helpless turtle below him. Mikey gulped at having been caught in his own hypocrisy. Standing up Raph walked over to the couch leaving Mikey on the floor.

“I trust I made my point?” Don questioned as he moved to join his mate in celebrating in their small victory of silencing Mikey’s taunts for the moment, knowing that it wouldn’t last long.


	271. Musings of a Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 27th - Joy

Master Splinter kneeled at the edge of the practice mat in the dojo as he watched his sons go through their morning katas. They were ones that his sons had learned as young children and knew by heart at this point in their lives. It was good to go over the basics at times since they are the building block on which everything else is built.

Watching his sons move together as a single unit always served to warm his heart and bring him joy. Their happiness was nearly palatable. Growing up together with no outside influence had forged a relationship between the four of them that was tested by time and as strong as steel.

They were still brothers and they would still get into fights at times and get on each other’s nerves but at the end of the day they would always be there for one another. This devotion had only increased with the addition of their romantic relationships.

The change from brothers to lovers had divided his sons into pairs and had deepened the love they shared for their partner. Knowing that each of his sons had someone to love and grow old with gave Master Splinter a sense of peace and joy. They would never have to be alone as long as they had each other.

This division into pairs had not taken anything away from their relationship as four brothers though. This had been Master Splinter’s biggest concern when he first deduced that his genius and most passionate sons were falling in love with each other. He didn’t want there to be a rift should such a relationship come to light. A romantic bond between his oldest and youngest sons might have only proved to widen that gap.

Instead of drawing away from one another, their pair bonding had only brought all four of his sons closer together. Raphael and Donatello had started a change in their family that had helped all of them grow and mature from unruly teenagers to strong, capable, and independent young men.

It had drawn his two oldest children closer after years of struggling with their relationship. Both were extraordinarily headstrong and had butted heads for years as they grew up. Now that they each had a partner that balance them out they were able to relate to each other better. Seeking advice for how to deal with their younger mates had also given them something to bond over.

This change had also been beneficial to his younger two as well. Donatello had been drawn out of his lab more than he had been previously and was exhibiting more confidence in himself. Mikey, though still hyper, had learned to harness that energy and turn it into something productive.

Everything that had happened over the past nine months had changed their family but as far as Master Splinter could see all of those changes were for the better. As long as they could hold together as they did now he had no fear for them once the day came that he would no longer be with them.

Looking at them in front of him now gave his a great sense of joy and accomplishment. Even standing apart from each other as they moved fluidly through the space he could feel their spirits seeking each other out. As a father he couldn’t ask for more.


	272. Frustrating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 28th - Fly

Don had always prided himself on being able to remain calm in any situation that was thrown his way. He had diffused time bombs while his brothers were fighting the Foot around him and shurikens were being thrown in his direction. He had preformed life saving surgery on Leo once in the past and hadn’t batted an eye at the time for goodness sakes.

Slow but surely he was being driven crazy in his own lab by a force that he just couldn’t seem to be able to tune out. Somehow a fly had gotten into the lair and made its way unerringly straight into Don’s lab where it seemed to refuse to leave.

Don’s best guess was that the fly liked the warmth of the room that was generated by his computer and other machines. This did not give the fly an excuse for making his lab its home and his head as its center of operations as far as Don was concerned.

So far Don had tried just ignoring the insect but the droning buzzing sound had worked its way into his brain and refused to be removed. At this point Don was sure that the fly was purposefully working on an evil plan to annoy him to death. It was even better at it than Mikey was.

When Mikey tried coming into his lab to bother him Don could counter by locking the door but the fly had somehow already made it past that defense rendering that option moot. Next Don would typically throw Mikey bodily from his room if he was bothering him to the point that the fly was.

Since throwing such a small insect was out of the question Don was focused on the next best option. He was trying to kill it. Trying being the operative word. Rolled up paper hadn’t worked so Don had gone in search of a normal fly swatter.

Wielding the fly swatter with the same firmness that Leo used with his katanas and using stealth developed over years of training Don stalked after the fly just waiting for it to land one place and stay there long enough for him to swat it.

He finally thought he had his opportunity when the bug landed on top of his desk and just scuttled about in the same three square inches. Staying in the shadows Don approached the desk slowly so as not to alert the fly of his presence. When he felt the moment was right Don lunged and brought the fly swatter down as fast as he could only to land on an empty desk.

Don’s yell of frustration echoed within his lab and out into the main portion of the lair. Knowing that his mate was usually as cool as a cucumber, Raph took this yell to mean that he should probably get to the lab very quickly to see what was going on.

Once he was through the door Raph was very confused by the sight that met his eyes. Don was no longer yelling but was instead sitting limply in his computer chair with his arms just hanging down by his sides and lightly banging his head against the top of his desk.

“Don, you okay in here?” Raph asked hesitantly.

“No,” Don said adamantly. “There is a fly buzzing around my lab that I cannot seem capable of killing and it is slowly driving me insane.”

Raph frowned slightly at his mate’s pitiful plight and looked around the room to see if he could spot this elusive fly. After a moment he caught a glimpse of the fly buzzing around over by one of the walls. Quick as a flash, Raph removed one of his sais and sent it hurtling across the room and skewering the fly into the wall.

Don’s head came flying up when he heard the sai embed itself into the wall. His jaw dropped open in amazement when he looked closer and saw the dead fly at the tip. It wasn’t that he had ever doubted Raph’s abilities when he worked with his chosen weapons. He had just forgotten just how talented Raph was.

“Show off,” Don muttered under his breath.

Raph just smirked and placed a kiss on Don’s cheek. He liked showing off to his mate.


	273. Pinned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 29th - Say It

Tonight’s evening practice was full of close contact and friendly rivalries. Master Splinter had decided that instead of merely sparring with one another they needed to hone their skills at hand to hand combat and escaping being pinned to the ground. Each of them would get a change against everyone else to experience the full range of skills each member of the family had to offer.

The first up were Raph and Mikey. The younger of the two was hyped up from the candy that he had eaten earlier in the day and so was bouncing around and making it hard for Raph to catch him. He figured if Raph couldn’t catch him, he couldn’t pin him, and that he could wear his older brother down.

Raph still had a seed of annoyance at Mikey’s teasing remarks after he had walked in on him and Don having sex in the garage. Deciding to play it smart, Raph held back a bit until Master Splinter reminded Mikey that this was a hand to hand exercise. As soon as he stopped bouncing away Raph made his move taking Mikey down to the floor and becoming the victor.

Leo and Don were up next. Don was used to using his bo and keeping his opponents at a distance from him so he quickly found himself at a disadvantage to his older brother. Leo jumped on this fast and came at Don quickly not giving him a moment to strategize and soon had him pinned to the ground.

Up next was Mikey versus Leo. Having lost once already Mikey now had a pout on his face and a new focus on practice. As cute as Leo found his mate’s pouting to be, he wasn’t about to go easy on him. Going easy on his lover in practice could easily lead to his death in the middle of a real battle.

Mikey knew that Leo wasn’t going to just give in to him just because he was his mate. He would have to earn his victory and he had a plan on just how to do that. Knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to fight against Leo’s stronger build Mikey didn’t struggle too much when Leo pinned him to the floor.

Instead of saying that he yielded and ending the match like Leo expected him to Mikey made a bold move. He reached his hand down quickly so Leo wouldn’t notice and grabbed onto his tail and squeezed. Leo was so shocked by the move that he loosened his grip on Mikey and soon found himself pinned to the floor with nowhere to move until he yielded.

Don found himself up against his own mate now. He wanted to show everyone that he hadn’t been slacking in his hand to hand skills just because his normal weapon was the bo. Raph on the other was used to working in close quarters with his opponents and wasn’t just going to roll over and play dead.

One thing Raph was good at was learning by watching others. He had noticed how Mikey had taken Fearless down and was now prepared to try the same stunt on Donnie. After a few minutes of grappling Raph was able to pull Don close to his body, lick along the side of his neck, and wiggle his fingers along Don’s sensitive sides.

This trick left Don weak in the knees and easily sent him to the floor face first. Raph was right behind him and landed with his lower plastron pressed right up against Don’s rump. Don could feel the bulge in his mate’s plastron indicating his excitement at this position and quickly yielded. He didn’t need to get all worked up right before his match with Mikey.

Don was a bit annoyed with having lost two matches already and wasn’t about to lose a third one to his only younger brother. This led him to coming out strong right out of the gate. Mikey on the other hand was still crowing in victory at having defeated their leader and so wasn’t paying the attention that he should have been.

Instead of holding back as he had done in his match against Leo, Don charged in head first towards Mikey, surprising him. Tackling him around the waist, they both fell to the floor with Don on top. With sea green hands in his own and his knees holding Mikey’s legs to the ground, Don held him there until he yielded.

Don had a proud smirk on his face when he helped Mikey to his feet and they went to stand and the side of the room while Leo and Raph had their final match. Both of them had very dominant personalities and it would be fun to watch them fight for the win.

Back and forth Leo and Raph fought, pushing each other as far as they could go. Eventually though the fact that Leo had more rest since his last match gave him the smallest edge that he need and he managed to pin Raph to the floor with no room to move.

“Say it Raph,” Leo told his brother. “Say you yield and I’ll let you up.”

Raph struggled for another minute but eventually realized that he had zero leverage and relaxed.

“I yield,” he finally admitted.

Leo pulled back and together they stood up and all four of them moved to kneel in front of their sensei.

“Very good my sons,” Master Splinter complimented. “You have all done very well this evening. You are dismissed.”


	274. Crunchy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 30th - North

The night was calm and Raph and Don planned on taking full advantage of this. The nights were starting to change from the warmth of summer to the crisp chill of fall and they wanted to get outside as much as they could before the weather got too cold for their reptilian bodies.

This is what led the pair to be walking hand in hand through Central Park tonight. There was a chill to the air but nothing that they couldn’t handle. Soon though they would need to put on their human disguises just for the extra warmth if they wanted to take a romantic walk like this in the future.

Right now though they could walk through the more secluded parts of the park with little problem. Leo and Mikey had claimed the living room for their own date night earlier which is what led Don and Raph to take their own date elsewhere.  
Raph couldn’t say that he was a huge fan of nature in general but fall was one of his favorite times of the year. He couldn’t help but love watching the leaves change color. It had actually been him, not Donnie, that chose Central Park for their walk just for the reason of looking at the trees.

With a glance over his shoulder at Raph, Don released the hand that he had been holding and ran ahead down the pathway and jumped on a small pile of leaves. The crunching sound under his feet made him smile. Raph breezed past him in retaliation and jumped onto the next crunchy leaf before Don could get there.

This started an all out leaf crunching war between the two of them. Running up and down the path, sometimes into the bushes, they each worked on finding the crunchiest leaves to stomp on. Eventually their antics led them to the clearing that they had watched fire flies flitter about in earlier in the summer.

Instead of continuing to run around they found themselves drawn back together staring up at the tree tops. The reds and oranges and golds along with the greens of the leaves that hadn’t changed yet served to create a collage of gems above their heads lit only by the faraway streetlights that dotted the more frequently used pathways.

“I wish there were more trees around here,” Raph lamented. “I love watching the leaves change.”

“Yeah,” Don agreed softly also looking up at the trees. “The place to be if you don’t want to leave the state is farther north. You get out of the city and into the country side so there are more trees period. Plus up north it’s cooler so more of the leave change before falling and you get even better colors.”

“Casey and April are lucky,” Raph thought out loud. “They’re up in North Hampton right now and get to see all of the colors.”

“We could always call and ask them to take some pictures and send them to us,” Don suggested.

Raph turned his head back down and turned his gaze to his mate. “You have an answer for everything don’t you Donnie-boy?” Raph teased.

“I try,” Don joked back.

Raph chuckled at his lover’s impish attitude and locked their elbows together and pulled him back towards the park paths. There were still more trees to see and leaves to crunch and the night was still early.


	275. Down by the Docks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 1st - East

Patrol tonight took the boys over to the east towards the docks and water front. It had been a while since they had gone down around this area and crime always seemed to grow back here no matter how many times they patrolled.

Close observation would be of key importance during their patrol. With the weather the way it was it would be challenging to determine legitimate workers bundled up against the cold versus criminals attempting to obscure their identities. Watching movements and behavioral mannerisms was how they would determine one group from the other.

In order to cover more ground in an area of the city that was notoriously unstable, the brothers split into pairs. Leo didn’t want any of them becoming too dependent on working with their mate to the detriment of the whole team though. In an attempt to prevent this he had paired Raph with Mikey and Don with himself.

The night was dark and this let both groups of turtles sneak through the night safe in the cover of the shadows. Together Mikey and Raph headed to the eastern part of the docks and slipped down to the street level so they could watch the action and be closer to any problems that may occur.

As they snuck from stack of crates to stack of crates Raph kept his eyes peeled for any sign of mischief. It had been a while since he had been out busting heads and he was looking forward to seeing some action tonight.

Raph thought he had gotten his wish when Mikey spotted a man walking between different crates and searching into corners as though looking for something. Together they crept closer to check out the situation.

When they got close enough though they saw the badge pinned onto his shirt indicating that he was a night watchman for the shipping company using this port. As they started to back up to go looking elsewhere Mikey tripped on an empty can and sent it flying towards the guard.

A hasty retreat was made but there were only so many places they could go without being seen. It was a good thirty feet between where Raph and Mikey where hiding and the next closest place to hide. The night guard was coming closer and they knew they didn’t have much longer to wait. If they didn’t move soon they would be seen out in the open but if they stayed they were extremely likely to be found there anyway.

Just as the guy was about to round the corner Raph made the decision for them and shoved Mikey out from their hiding spot and towards the fire escape that would offer them some protection from prying eyes as soon as they got to the roof.

They had only made it half way when the man rounded the corner and came into full view of where Raph and Mikey were standing. They might have still had a chance at not being spotted if the moon hadn’t chosen that moment to make an appearance on the eastern horizon and light up the entire area.

Before they could be seen the night guard was startled by the sound of something crashing behind him. When he spun around to locate the source of the noise Mikey and Raph wasted no time in scaling the fire escape and getting out of view. On the rooftop waiting for them were Leo and Don.

“Having fun?” Leo asked sarcastically.

“Well you know, I like to live on the edge,” Mikey answered trying to make light of the situation. “Thanks for the backup.”

“That wasn’t me,” Leo said tipping his head towards the turtle standing next to him. “Donnie was the one that came to your rescue.”

Raph walked over to his mate and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for having my back Brainiac.”

“Not a problem Raph,” Don responded before they all turned and headed for another area. The night was still young and there were actual bad guys to find.


	276. Migration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 2nd - South

April and Casey had taken a trip up to the farm house in the North Hamptons for the past few days in order to spend some alone time together and they were just getting back today. Casey planned on heading straight back to his own place to unpack while April went to her own apartment.

Mikey had suggested that they be good friends and head up to April’s apartment to help her unpack even though his brothers knew that part of his reasoning was that he was hoping for a present. This didn’t stop Don from agreeing with him since he wanted to show April some new software that he had updated for her store computers.

Raph and Leo also joined their younger mates in heading topside. It was still the afternoon and they wanted to make sure that nothing unwanted happened while they were at home and could have prevented it. They also didn’t mind putting in an appearance and saying hi to their friend.

In order to avoid detection the brothers used the south tunnel that had been dug into April’s basement so they could come and go without any humans seeing them. It only took them about a twenty minute walk before they got to the Second Time Around shop and took the stairs up to the second floor apartment that April occupied.

April was a bit surprised at first to see her turtle friends drop by unexpectedly but she quickly smiled and gave them hugs before going to pull the curtains closed on her windows so no one outside might happen to glance in and catch a glimpse of her strange companions.

While Don showed off his new software to April the other boys made themselves busy putting groceries away that April had bought upon her return to the city. She had tried telling them that they didn’t have to do that but they were very insistent.

With so many bodies moving around in such a small space, the apartment quickly started heating up. In an effort to try and maintain a comfortable temperature April reached around the curtains and opened the windows wide to let in some fresh air.

Fresh air wasn’t the only thing to come in the window. The sound of geese hooking as they made their yearly migration south filtered into the apartment. Mikey went and carefully peeled back the curtain enough that he could see the flying V formation in the sky.

“It would be cool if we could migrate south too,” he thought out loud.

“You say the strangest things Mikey,” Raph pointed out. “Why on Earth would we want to go south for the winter? This city is our home.”

As much as Don agreed with his lover that New York was their home and none of them would want to leave it for so long he had to agree that Mikey had a point and said so.

“It actually wouldn’t hurt us to do what Mikey said and head south when it gets cold,” Don rationalized. “Our turtle physiology makes us more susceptible to the cold. The warmer climate of the south would actually be beneficial. However you are right Raph. This is our home and we will adapt in order to stay here.”

Raph grunted in acknowledgement of Don’s point.

“You know you guys can always crash here if it gets too cold down in the lair for you right?” April told the guys.

“We know that April,” Leo said with a kind smile. “And we truly appreciate the offer.”

“Don’t worry about it Leo,” April said brushing away the thanks. “We’re family and that’s what families do for each other.”


	277. Cascading Failure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 3rd - West

Don let out a long sigh as he sank down into his chair at the kitchen table. Leo had just finished setting the table for dinner while Mikey put the last few touches to the meal before bringing it to the table. It had a long day for the genius turtle and he was gratefully for the break.

Before Raph took his own seat he stopped behind Don for a moment. With a tenderness that he rarely showed he set his hands on Don’s shoulders and started rubbing the muscles underneath the skin in soothing circles in an attempt to help his mate relax.

After a minute of the comforting massage Don’s shoulders relaxed and his whole body seemed to calm down. Reaching up with a hand he set it on top of one of Raph’s and gave it a squeeze as well as a smile of appreciation.

For some reason there had been a lot of malfunctions in the sensors that were set up throughout the sewers to alert them to any unwanted visitors. Despite most of the malfunctions being clustered around the west end of the tunnels there were also many that were scattered all over the place. This had kept Don running around all day and he was now very tired.

The only respite that Don had received was from the little help that Raph had been able to give. Raph had remained in the lair while Don ran around to the different sensors to see what was wrong with them. While Don was in the sewers Raph took out all of the extra sensors that they had stockpiled and made sure that they were all in working order.

Despite the assistance provided by his mate Don did end up doing most of the legwork. He had decided to start in the west since most of the problems had been located there. Every time he thought he had fixed them though and moved on to somewhere else Raph would call him and tell him that they had broken again.

When Don had turned back up in the lair after five hours of running around he had been no closer to figuring out what was causing the problems to begin with. Raph had suggested that they switch jobs and Don take a look at the computer program controlling the sensors more in depth than Raph could and see if he could trace the problem that way.

Don had acquiesced just for the chance to get off of his feet for a couple of minutes. When he carefully looked over the program he was able to spot the problem. There had been a cascading blackout to multiple sensors when one had broken down.

Don had known that this could happen when he first installed the devices but had, had no choice at the time. He had been working diligently to fix it but hadn’t had the material. While he was relieved that he finally knew what the problem was it was also disheartening. The sensor that started the failure was the farthest away in the western tunnels.

Now that Don had fixed everything and was about ready to start dinner he could barely keep his eyes open. All he wanted to do was fill his stomach and head to bed. He hoped that with Raph’s help he could upgrade the rest of the sensors in the near future so something like this wouldn’t happen again.


	278. Tunnels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 4th - Maze

When Donatello opened his eyes this morning to the sound of his alarm going off he felt much more rested than when he had gone to bed last night. Stretching out a bit to relieve muscles that had grown slightly stiff from staying in the same place all night long he couldn’t help the churr of contentment that rumbled from his chest when Raph’s arms reflexively tightened around him.

Don had called it a night shortly after dinner yesterday and a bit to his surprise so had Raph. When they got to their room Don had asked him why he was turning in when it was obvious that he wasn’t sleepy yet.

As Raph had crawled into bed beside his almost asleep mate he had told him that he wanted Don to get a good night’s sleep since he was so tired and that he didn’t think waking Don up by coming to bed later would be very helpful when it came to achieving that goal.

Don had been too tired to argue and had just decided not to bother. Now that it was morning he was quite happy with the decision that he had made. He had slept deeply secure in Raph’s arms the entire night.

Now that it was morning though it was time to start a new day. This meant grabbing a cup of coffee before going to practice. After practice there would be a more substantial breakfast than just the nectar of the Gods. This would be followed up by a trip through the maze like tunnels that they considered their home beneath the human world.

Both he and Raph wanted to go around and check the status of all of the sensors. They didn’t want a repeat of what had happened yesterday. This meant manually checking them and replacing the ones that would cause a cascading failure like the one that they had just experienced.

As they walked through the tunnels together Don had his trusty duffle bag thrown over his shoulder and Raph was easily twirling one of his sais around with his fingers. They could have covered more ground separately but they just wanted to spend the time together even if it meant taking longer.

While they walked Raph thought about the fact that they didn’t need to consciously think about where they were going. If a human were to venture down into this territory they would need a map to navigate through the maze of tunnels that stretched out before them.

Having grown up down here it was second nature to the turtle brothers. Sure they had gotten turned around a few times as children but that hadn’t happened in years. This was their playground, their sidewalks, their streets. There wasn’t a tunnel within a ten mile radius of the lair that they didn’t know about and hadn’t explored a hundred times over.

Raph smiled when he thought about the hours that Don had spent as a pre-teen studying the city’s diagrams of the sewers and memorizing the best routes to get from one place to another. This had drastically helped when it came to placing the sensors that protected their home. It also meant that if for some strange reason they got amnesia Don would still manage to get them home.


	279. Saving Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 5th - Beginning

Raph rolled his head around his shoulders to try and relax the muscles while Don reached into the shower and began the water. They had just come from practice and while it was not the most difficult one they had ever had it was still physically taxing. Sweat coated their bodies and they wanted nothing more at the moment than to wash it off.

Leo had stayed behind in the dojo for some meditation to clear his mind and allow his body to cool down before doing anything else and had somehow managed to convince Mikey to remain with him. This meant that Raph and Don had the bathroom all to themselves for at least half an hour without having to fight for it.

Once the water was deemed to be an acceptable temperature Don and Raph began stripping each other of the few articles of clothing that they wore. Just because they were trying to get clean didn’t mean that they couldn’t enjoy the sensual side of a shared shower.

Don was the first to step under the cascading water and let it begin to wash the sweat from his body. As the water washed over Don, Raph stopped for a moment to stare at his mate. If he had thought that the tiny droplets of sweat that had clung to Don’s body earlier had been arousing, it was nothing compared to how he looked now with the water caressing every inch of his skin.

When Raph finally stepped into the shower Don felt himself staring as the steam that had built up from the heat parted around his lover and gave him the appearance of some mystical creature coming in through the mist.

At first they did make an honest attempt at getting clean. The trouble was that there are so many spots that are hard to reach by themselves since their shells tended to get in the way. On top of that there was no way that they could resist touching the other when it came to running a soapy wash cloth over nice, sensitive areas.

It was Don who was the first to take their innocent shower and turn it into something far more risqué. With Raph facing that shower head so Don could wash his shell, Don took the opportunity to slide his hand lower until he was squeezing and pulling at Raph’s tail.

Raph jerked forward to brace himself against the wall. He could feel heat beginning to pool in his lower regions and a churr made its way from deep in his chest. It was when Don’s other hand found the tight entrance to his body and began working its way in that that he allowed his erection to drop down into the open air.

“We have to make sure that we get everything clean now don’t we?” Don teased.

Deeming his mate properly stretched Don dropped down and covered his own erection with soap so that he wouldn’t hurt his lover. Without waiting any longer he shoved inside Raph and set a hard fast pace.

Knowing that Raph would need to keep himself braced against the wall to prevent himself from slipping Don reached around in order to jerk him off in time with his thrusts. Their pace was fast and their orgasms were soon upon them with the mess easily being washed away down the drain.

Just as Don was pulling out of Raph there was a loud knocking on the door.

“Don’t take up all of the hot water guys,” Mikey voice yelled. “There are still two other turtles that want a turn in there.”

Don and Raph looked at each other a little sheepishly as they turned off the water and began drying off. They may have had to leave the bathroom now but the day was just beginning and there would be plenty more opportunities to have some fun.


	280. Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 6th - Ending

The day was slowly coming to an end as the sun was sinking down below the horizon. Don had been busy throughout the day working on a plan that was all leading up to now as he and Raph jumped from rooftop to rooftop to a location that was a complete mystery to the emerald green mutant.

Don had been very appreciative of his mate’s help the past few days with repairing the sensors when they broke down and willing going to bed early when he wasn’t tired just so that he wouldn’t disturb Don when he came in. All of this made Don want to show Raph just how much those gestures meant to him.

Raph had been curious when Don told him to put on his sweatshirt and sweat pants because they were going topside. He had tried getting Don to tell him where they were going but came up empty each time. Don was refusing to give up his secret.

Eventually their run came to an end on the top of an older office building on the outskirts of the city. Raph did a double take when he saw what was sitting on the roof waiting for them.

Over in the corner was an older tv that had been hooked into the power supply for the building. In front of that was a small folding table with two chairs on either side. On top of the table sat a pizza box from the take out place that they used a lot and a six pack of Raph’s favorite beer.

Walking over to the box Raph flipped open the lid and took a deep sniff of the heavenly aroma that the deluxe meat lover’s pizza was giving off. When he turned around to see where Don had gone he saw Don pick up the remote that had been sitting on top of the television and turn it on.

The sounds of a cheering crowd met Raph’s ears before the picture cleared up to show him a woman that had just ended singing the national anthem and two rival football teams taking to the field for kick off to start the game.

“What’s all of this for Donnie?” Raph asked in amazement at all of the things spread before him.

Don walked back over to Raph and set the remote down before wrapping his arms around Raph’s neck.

“It’s for you,” Don said simply. “You’ve just been so wonderful these past couple of days and I wanted to thank you for that.”

Raph put his own arms around Don’s waist and pulled him close and nuzzled at his neck. “You don’t have to thank me for that,” Rap felt the need to point out. “I like doing things for you. I love you and I like showing you that.”

“And that’s why I wanted to do this,” Don asserted.

Raph found he had no words to continue arguing at the complete sincerity in Don’s eyes. Instead he replied in the only way that he could think of, by claiming Don’s mouth in a deep, soul searing kiss.

Don broke away ending the kiss when the need to breathe became too great. Just as he pulled away the crowd on the tv erupted into cheers again as one team scored a touchdown.

“Exactly my thought,” Don said referring to the cheering.

When they broke apart Raph went over to the table and pulled the two chairs together so they were no longer separated and would now be sitting side by side. Together with his lover, eating pizza, drinking a beer, and watching football, Raph couldn’t imagine a better way to end the day.


	281. Sea Sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 7th - Rollercoaster

_Note to self_ , Don thought. _Never be swayed by Mikey’s puppy dog eyes ever again._

Currently the two youngest brothers were seated in the Sewer Slider. Mikey was in the driver’s seat manning the controls and Don was holding on for dear life hoping that he wouldn’t lose the contents of his stomach. Right now they were making their way towards the island that housed the Statue of Liberty.

Earlier that evening Leo and Raph had gone out together for a training run. Apparently they had found some trouble that resulted in a chase that ended with them being stranded on the island. Don had received a call on his shell cell fifteen minutes ago from Raph detailing their plight, how if Leo had listened to him in the first place they wouldn’t be stuck now, and would he and Mikey please come and pick them up.

At first Don and Mikey had found great joy in making fun of their hapless mates. They decided that the easiest and fastest way to get to them would be to take the Sewer Slider out into the bay and back again.

Mikey had immediately jumped into the driver’s seat and begged Don to let him drive them out there and back. With the use of his famous puppy dog stare he had won Don over which led to his current predicament of hanging on to the side of the vehicle for dear life.

The wind had picked up tonight and that meant that the water was very choppy. This wouldn’t have been too big of an obstacle except for the fact that Michelangelo refused to slow down for the breakers and instead insisted on hitting them at full speed causing the Slider to fly into the air and crash down hard.

Don had never been one to shy away from rough rides. The amount of times that he had driven the Battle shell while trying to outmaneuver their enemies took care of that. This current feeling of being on an out of control rollercoaster was not within Don’s scope of experiences.

If it were just the normal bay waves it would be one thing but right now it was a constant struggle to remain upright and in the boat while Mikey seemed to be doing his best to knock them off and into the water.

After what seemed like agonizing hours to Don but was in reality only about twenty minutes they finally reached the island that their brothers were stranded on. The moment the boat hit the shore where Leo and Raph were waiting Don was off of it and clinging to the land as though he would never leave it again.

“What’s the matter Don?” Raph asked. “You don’t look so hot.”

“I let Mikey drive on the way over here,” Don moaned. “Big mistake.”

Raph looked sympathetic as he rubbed a hand over Don’s back in soothing circles. Don was taking deep breaths of air to try and calm his stomach after the wild rollercoaster ride that he had just been on.

“Let’s head back home,” Leo announced as he jumped into the Slider.

Don gave a determined look as he walked over to the boat and none too gently removed Mikey from the driver’s seat. Mikey pouted but one look at both Don’s stormy expression and Raph’s protective glare sent him over to Leo’s side. He would just need to steal the keys later when Don wasn’t looking and take the Slider out for a spin again. That way he could go as fast as he wanted to.


	282. Glass of Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 8th - Broken Glass

When Don slowly opened his eyes his first thought was that it was way too early to be awake and a glance at his alarm clock confirmed that. After rolling over so that he was facing the door and Raph was now hugged around his back Don tried to fall back to sleep.

Sleep however was being illusive and refused to revisit Don. A tickle kept playing along the back of his throat which led him to barely suppressing a couch. After about five minutes Don thought that the best solution was to give up on hoping it would just go away and for him to get up and get a glass of water.

As Don slipped out of Raph’s hold his mate moaned at the loss of contact and reached out for him. Carefully Don tucked the blankets back around Raph and placed a quick kiss on his forehead.

“I’ll be right back,” Don whispered. “I’m just getting something to drink.”

Once Raph settled back down Don left the room and headed down to the kitchen. With only a small nightlight in the living room providing any sort of illumination the kitchen was cast almost completely in black shadows. This didn’t make any difference to Don since he knew where everything was from memory anyway.

It was but the work of moments to grab a glass from out of one of the upper cabinets and fill it with cold water at the sink. Don had already downed half of the glass when he stepped to the side to lean against one of the counters.

The trouble was that he hadn’t known that Klunk had chosen that spot to curl up for the night. Don wasn’t aware of this and ended up stepping on his tail. This caused a chain reaction of Klunk hissing in anger, digging his claws into Don’s foot in retaliation, and Don jumping back in surprise.

When Don jumped back he reflexively dropped the glass that he had been holding and water and broken glass scattered all over the kitchen floor while Klunk made his escape. Grumbling to himself about foolish cats that took after their owners Don tried to step over to the light switch so he could see to clean up the broken glass.

What he didn’t count of was one of the shards finding the bottom of his foot and lodging itself in there. Don let out a yelp of pain that he barely managed to keep quiet enough so as not to wake the whole house.

Light suddenly flooded the room before Don could move and potentially hurt himself again. In the doorway stood Raph trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

“You okay Donnie?” Raph asked as he took a look and the broken glass covering the floor.

“No. I have some glass stuck in the bottom of my foot,” Don explained. “If I try and walk on it I’ll just drive it in deeper.”

Without waiting for any farther explanation Raph strode over, careful not to step on any glass, and lifted Don into his arms and set him down on the couch. Leaving him there for a minute Raph quickly cleaned up the mess in the kitchen so no one else would get hurt before returning to his mate.

Lifting Don back up into his arms Raph took them to the lab so that he could remove the glass before it became a permanent feature in Don’s foot. Under Don’s careful instructions since he couldn’t reach it easily himself, Raph removed the shard and bandaged the injured limb.

“I’d suggest trying to stay off that foot as much as possible,” Raph advised.

“How exactly am I supposed to get around then?” Don asked.

Standing up Raph picked Don up one more time into his strong arms. “I don’t see that being too much of a problem Donnie-boy,” Raph replied as he took them both back upstairs to bed.


	283. Swinging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 9th - Impossible

So far the day had been filled with ups and downs for Donnie. The main drawback was his injured foot. He was unable to participate in practice with his brothers and had to sit over to the side and watch them. He still was expected to take part in meditation though which he could still do with a bandaged foot.

The up side to his injury was Raph was always by his side helping him whenever he needed to move from one place to another. When he tried hobbling around Raph was there to throw Don’s arm over his shoulders and make sure that he didn’t trip. Stairs were a bit more tricky however.

Now that the day had finished and it was time to head upstairs to bed Don was faced with the problem of managing the stairs. Hobbling wouldn’t work since to jump from one step to the next with only one foot was a recipe for disaster.

Raph didn’t have the same concerns as his mate though. He didn’t hesitate for a moment as he walked up to Don, lifted him into his arms, and started climbing the stairs without ever breaking his stride. Don struggled instinctively for a moment before realizing the impossibility of the action.

When they reached their room Raph barely paused to kick the door closed behind him and lock it before moving to the back of the room and dumping Don onto his hammock. Don let out a surprised squeak as he was dropped and swung back a bit with his previous momentum.

As Don swung back towards him Raph took the opportunity to move between Don’s slightly spread legs and move them wider apart to make room for himself. Grabbing onto the hammock Raph pulled Don close before attaching his mouth to that of his mate’s.

The churr that rumbled out of Raph’s chest met an answering one from Don. Finally Don was able to pull away enough to breathe which didn’t deter Raph in the slightest. He just changed his target to the long column of Don’s neck.

“Raph maybe we should move this to the bed,” Don suggested with a grunt when he felt a hand playing with his tail. “It’s far more stable than this hammock.”

Raph hummed in acknowledgement as he grabbed a nearby bottle of lube and slowly used it to press one digit into Don’s tight ring of muscles.

“The bed may be more stable but the hammock isn’t impossible to work with,” Raph assured the olive skinned turtle below him. “I think this will serve us just fine.”

Deeming the prep to be done Raph quickly lubed up his erection that had already dropped down and lined the tip up with Don’s opening. Instead of just thrusting in Raph took a firm hold on the hammock and swung it hard towards him, skewering Don on his cock to the hilt.

Don cried out in shock as a jolt of pleasure burst through his lower regions sending his own erection tumbling out into the open. In order to give Raph more room to work Don spread his legs wider and hooked them onto the sides of the hammock so he was practically doing a split.

Raph took this as an open invitation to keep the hammock swinging back and forth. This meant Don was fucking himself on Raph’s dick without Raph have to move. It also meant that with Raph’s hands occupied keeping the hammock moving Don had to grab onto his own erection and try to pump it in time with the thrusts to his body.

They weren’t able to keep up this pace indefinitely and they were both soon pushed over the edge. The swinging of the hammock become erratic and made it nearly impossible for Don to keep his legs up and out of the way.

As they came down from their high Raph slowed the swinging and tucked his face into Don’s neck staying buried inside of him for a minute. Eventually though Raph did pull away but he didn’t get very far before Don swung his body around and yanked Raph up beside him into the hammock.

“You were right,” Don conceded as he felt his eyelids closing of their own accord. “The hammock is definitely doable.”

Raph chuckled lightly at Don’s choice of words and pulled him close. As much as he loved the sex, it was the closeness afterwards that he really loved and he was about to get a whole night of it swinging gently in the hammock.


	284. Some Things You Can't Unsee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 10th - Up

Don was up bright and early the next morning. He had slept very well after he and Raph made love last night and was ready to get up and start the day. Quietly Don slipped out of the hammock and over to the bedroom door without waking Raph up.

Moving around on his injured foot was much easier today than it had been yesterday. Luckily the cut hadn’t been very deep. It had hurt with the glass in there but now it was healing very well and he could walk around on it just fine. In another day or so he could probably take the bandages off too.

The first thing Don planned on doing was getting himself a cup of coffee to start the day and get his brain up and running. This plan came to a screeching halt the moment he stepped into the kitchen doorway. The sight before him was enough to cause Don to freeze in place.

Sitting up on the table was Mikey with his legs spread wide and Leo standing in between them. This would have been bad enough but for the fact that Leo was grinding their lower plastrons together and the sound of churrs as well as the smell of arousal was filling the air.

Don tried to stealthily retreat out of the room without being seen but turtle luck was not working in his favor. The bandage on the bottom of his foot scraped against the floor and Leo picked up on the sound. He pulled away from Mikey and spun around so fast that he didn’t have time to tuck himself back in.

“Sorry. Sorry,” Don said as he quickly looked away from his older brother’s penis and kept backing out of the room. “I’m just gonna leave now.”

Turning around Don nearly ran back upstairs to his room and dove back into the hammock next to Raph waking him up with a start. Raph immediately sat up and reached for his waist automatically for his sais that he had taken off last night while looking around to try and find the threat that had sent his mate running into his arms.

“What’s happening? What’s going on Don?” Raph questioned as he slowly got his bearings.

“It’s nothing really,” Don assured Raph despite his face still being buried in Raph’s neck. “I was just awake early and thought I’d get a cup of coffee. Bad idea. There are some things you can just never unsee.”

Still concerned Raph managed to pull Don away from him slightly so he could look him in the eye.

“Talk to me Don,” Raph ordered. “Something sent you running in here like you were being chased by the Foot now what was it?”

“Leo and Mikey are kind of occupying the kitchen right now,” Don explained. Seeing that Raph still didn’t quite get it he continued, “They’re having sex on the kitchen table and I walked in on them.”

Raph’s mouth dropped open in shock. “That’s just gross,” he insisted. “We eat at that table.”

Don giggled a bit, starting to get over his own shock at what he had walked in on. “Yeah but we marked that table first, remember?”

Raph blushed a bit at the memory of himself in an apron, laying on his back on that very same table while Don had his way with him.

“True but I still don’t want to think of Fearless and Mikey getting it on in there,” Raph said shuddering at the mental image. “Let’s give them a few minutes before going down there. I think we can find something to occupy our time with.”


	285. Oz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 11th - Down

Raph entered the garage around noon carrying a tray with two sandwiches, some pretzels, and some milk to drink on it. He and Don had been tinkering with some of the vehicles during the afternoon when they had gotten hungry for lunch and Raph had volunteered to go down to the lair to get them something to eat.

Now that he was back in the garage, Raph’s more pressing concern became the disappearance of his mate. Looking around he couldn’t see Don anywhere in the room. Raph was pretty sure that Don hadn’t come down to the lair since he was certain that he would have heard the elevator doors opening.

Quietly Raph set the tray down on an empty bench so that he would have his hands free. Walking around the room Raph happened to glance down and saw two olive green legs sticking out from beneath the bottom of the Battle shell.

“Hey Don,” Raph said with a small smirk that was evident in his voice. “Whatcha doing? Trying out for a part as the Wicked Witch of the East?”

“Oh hardy har har,” Don snarked as he pushed himself out from underneath that van on the rolling board that he used to maneuver more easily in tight places. “What would that make you then? The Wicked Witch of the West?”

“Why not?” Raph responded as he held out a hand to help Don to his feet. “I don’t have a problem with that. She was the best character. She had the flying monkeys.”

Don couldn’t contain the chuckle at Raph’s decision on what qualities made a good character. “What about Mikey and Leo then?” Don asked continuing the joke. “What characters would they be?”

“Mikey would be the brainless scarecrow of course,” joked Raph. “And Fearless couldn’t be anyone else but the perfect Glinda the Good from the north.”

Don was laughing so hard at this point that he was doubled over clutching at his sides like he might fall apart if he let go. Slowly he was able to get his breathing under control and stood back up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I guess that would mean that Klunk in Toto and Sensei is the great and power Wizard of Oz,” Don claimed giving the last two members of the household parts in the movie.

“We can’t leave out April and Casey though,” Raph remembered. “April would be Dorothy no question but Casey is the real problem. The scarecrow is already taken by Mikey so I guess he would have to be the Cowardly Lion.”

Don had just been trying to take a drink of the milk that Raph had brought with him from the lair but he couldn’t keep it down as he started laughing again. He was just barely able to keep the milk in his mouth instead of laughing hard enough to have it come out of his nose.

“I am so telling Casey that you said he would be the Cowardly Lion the next time I see him,” Don warned.

Raph attempted to throw a glare at his mate but it didn’t even come out as half hearted. He was having too much fun. At this rate Raph was going to do his best to make tinkering with the vehicles take as long as possible before he and Don had to head back down to the lair, out of Oz, and back to Kansas.


	286. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 12th - Kill

Don was able to take the bandages off of his foot today and he planned on making up for the days that he was stuck in the lair because of his foolishness with the glass. As soon as the sun had sunk down beneath the horizon Don had grabbed onto Raph and they had both headed up to the world above.

For the most part they just spent the evening running around on the rooftops. They played a few games of ninja tag and rough housed a bit as well as took some time to stare up at the stars.

Neither Don nor Raph had any real purpose while they were topside. They just wanted to have a little fun together. That all changed when they heard a crash on the next street over where they knew to be a high end jewelry store. Quickly making their way to the edge of the roof that would give them their best view they looked down to see Purple Dragons trying to break in through the side entrance.

There weren’t very many Purple Dragons prowling around the store but there were enough to provide a challenge. Raph glanced to his right to be sure that Don was ready and received a curt nod in confirmation. Together they leapt down as a single unit into the middle of the Dragons halting their robbery in progress.

Chaos erupted the moment their feet touched the ground however. It was obvious after a few seconds that the gang was better armed than either Raph or Don had suspected. Apparently the thugs had learned to be on the lookout for their turtle enemies and so were carrying more knives and other weapons with more confidence than they had in the past.

Normally working as a team Raph and Don would have been able to take out these punks without much of a problem but tonight they were putting up more of a fight. Much to the Dragons’ advantage they managed to separate the two mates and herd them to opposite ends of the alley.

Both Don and Raph fought hard and were making progress at taking down their enemies. The tipping point for Raph came when he heard a loud bang against a nearby dumpster and Don’s cry of pain. Wasting no more time Raph made quick work of the remaining punks around him and spun around to help his mate.

The sight that met Raph’s eyes caused the blood in his veins to freeze and his heart to miss a beat. Standing in front of him there was only one thug left and he had one arm wrapped around a slightly dazed Donnie and the other was holding a gun to his head.

“Back away and let me go and I might let this freak live,” the gang member warned.

The sight of his mate in such a dangerous situation unfroze Raph’s blood and made it boil. No one threatened Don like that and got away with it. Raph’s eyes narrowed into slits and his pulse began to beat in his ears blocking out everything else in the world besides Don, the thug, and the gun.

The Purple Dragon was getting antsy at Raph’s non response and shifted his weight back slightly as he tried to get a better grip on the turtle in front of him. This was his final mistake as Raph suddenly threw his sai at the hand holding the gun knocking the weapon out of reach and charged at the criminal.

It was but the work of a moment to get the guy pinned underneath him before Raph was driving his remaining sai deep into his chest killing him instantly. Raph was still in the grip of his rage though and continued stabbing the man repeatedly as though he were still a threat to the person that he loved.

It wasn’t until Raph felt Don pulling at him and yelling in his ear that the red mist of rage started to dissipate and he could see what he had done.

“It’s okay Raph! It’s okay!” Don yelled trying to help his mate. “He’s dead. You killed him. He can’t hurt me anymore. You can stop now.”

Once Raph finally stopped he just stared down at his hands. This was certainly not the first person that he had ever killed. He was a ninja after all and had, had to take lives before in order to protect his own life but this was different. He had never killed with as much rage as he just had and that scared him. He had always managed to keep that beast under control and now it had escaped and look at what he had done.

Quietly he allowed Don to guide him to his feet and retrieve the sai that he had thrown in order to knock the gun away from Don’s head. Raph was covered in blood almost from head to toe and it was starting to get very tacky on his skin.

As calmly as he could manage Don took Raph’s hand in his own and led him to the closest manhole covered. They needed to get home now and get Raph washed off before he completely succumbed to shock. This was not what Don had planned for their night out together.


	287. Safe and Sound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 13th - Adrenaline

_Donatello was in danger. Raph didn’t know what kind of danger he was in or from who but he knew that his mate was in danger and that he was the only one that could save him. This is what had him running through the streets and back alleys as fast as his legs could carry him._

_In the distance he thought that he heard the sounds of screaming and changed direction quickly to try and find the source of the screaming. Adrenaline was pumping fast through his system but it seemed like for every step he took the distance appeared to double._

_This was infuriating to Raph. His mate was in danger and he had to get to him. There was no way that Raph was about to let his most precious person come to harm. Not while there was something that he could do about it._

_Eventually the yelling became louder and Raph seemed to be approaching the source. As he turned the corner Raph saw Don fighting against the same Purple Dragon that had threatened him last night. Just as he was starting to get close to the scene so he could help his mate, Raph ran into an invisible wall blocking his progress._

_This drove Raph crazy. He started attacking the wall with his sais with all of his might. It didn’t give an inch. Raph was helpless. He was forced to watch as Don fought back as hard as he could but was slowly overpowered until he was lying on the ground unable to move._

_Slowly the thug turned to face Raph. While Raph watched, blood started to ooze from his chest where Raph had stabbed him repeatedly. With a cold and calculating smile the Purple Dragon pulled out a gun he had hidden in his pocket and aimed it at Don’s head. Raph went crazy at this but still couldn’t make it past the invisible wall holding him back._

_“You took my life. Now I’m going to take what means the most to you,” the criminal said before pulling the trigger._

Raph jerked awake and nearly fell out of bed. His muscles were tense and his heart was still beating rapidly from the adrenaline that had been released due to his nightmare. Glancing down Raph could see Don sleeping peacefully in bed giving out a small snore on occasion.

Carefully so as not to wake his mate, Raph laid back down and buried his face in Don’s neck and took the opportunity to breath in his scent. Under his ear Raph could hear Don’s heart beating strongly and feel his chest rising and falling with each and every breath that he took.

Raph nearly sobbed in release in this tangible evidence that his mate was safe and sound in his arms and that he hadn’t failed to save him. So many things could have gone wrong that night and Raph would have been left alone in an empty bed.

Don snuggled closer to Raph in his sleep as though sensing his mate’s inner turmoil and was seeking to fix it. Raph just pulled him closer and settled in for a long night knowing that he probably wouldn’t be getting any more sleep.


	288. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 14th - Run

Raph was gasping for breath as he charged through the sewers. He had been running all out for the past half hour but it seemed like his demons were still on his heels and that he would never escape them. Ever since he had killed that Purple Dragon two days ago Raph couldn’t seem to run away from what had happened.

Even in his home with his family what he had done to the thug still haunted his actions. This had proved true today when the four of them were horsing around in the living room.

_It had started when Mikey had the bright idea of jumping over the back of the couch without looking to see if anyone was sitting on it first. He had careened head first into Raph who had been sitting there flipping through the channels on the tv looking for something good to watch._

_When he was knocked to the floor Raph decided that payback was in order and rolled around so that Mikey was pinned beneath him. Despite his struggles Mikey couldn’t move his more muscular brother and instead turned to a different route for help by frantically yelling at the top of his lungs._

_The commotion in the living room was enough to draw Leo and Don’s attention away from the game of chess that they had been playing together. At the moment they were locked in a stalemate and it was Leo’s turn to move. The yelling gave him the perfect excuse to leave the game behind for a minute and strategize without being under Don’s examination._

_When Don and Leo saw what their mates were up to they couldn’t contain their laughter at their antics. One quick glance between them and they jumped onto the pile and joined in with the fun. In one huge ball the four of them rolled around the lair trading pins and headlocks back and forth._

_This game lasted up until Raph looked over and happened to glance over and see Leo hanging onto Donnie. Normally this wouldn’t have been anything to set Raph off since they were all playing around but Leo happened to have his arms wrapped around Don in the exact same way that the Purple Dragon had when he was threatening Don’s life._

_Raph saw red and tackled Leo off of his mate and slammed him into the floor in a way that showed that he was by no means joking around. At the moment all Raph could see was red and the monster that had tried to take his mate away from him. It wasn’t his brother underneath him but a monster that had to be stopped._

_It took both Don and Mikey working together to pulled Raph away long enough for his head to clear and see what was really going on. When he did he could only stare in horror at the bruises that were forming on Leo’s skin from where Raph had been hitting him._

_Pulling away all Raph could think to do in that moment was run. Ran as fast and as far as he could and hope that when he came back to the lair that it all would have just been some horrible dream._

This was why Raph was still running in the sewers. He knew that what he had done wasn’t some dream and that even though hadn’t known what he was doing at the time it didn’t change that fact that he had just attacked his brother and not the monster that hurt Don. Raph only hoped that eventually he might finally be able to run away from the monster inside of himself.


	289. Long Needed Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 15th - Understanding

Practice was just about to start when Raph entered the dojo. He was hoping that he could slip in without drawing too much attention to himself. He had apologized to Leo yesterday when he had eventually come back to the lair and had been forgiven but that didn’t mean that he was ready to be all buddy-buddy with Leo quite yet.

Without saying a word he joined his brothers in kneeling in front of their father. Master Splinter had taken his normal place in front of his students and was observing their behavior. It was obvious that while fences had been mended between his two oldest there was still some tension that lingered within his most hothead of children.

“Today Leonardo shall be in charge of practice,” Master Splinter announced. “Donatello, Michelangelo you shall follow his orders. Raphael follow me.”

Without waiting to see if he would be obeyed Master Splinter stood up and walked out of the dojo. Raph automatically did as he had been told and followed along behind his father who led him through the living room and into his own room.

Master Splinter waited for Raph to be seated before closing the door behind them and taking his own seat across the small table from his son. Calmly Splinter lifted a teapot that he had left warming in the room and poured two cups of tea, handing one to his son.

“Drink this. It is very soothing,” said Master Splinter.

Raph complied while trying to figure out what he had done to warrant a trip to his sensei’s room. Normally that was a special privilege kept for when he had broken a major rule and as far as he knew he hadn’t. Even his small tousle with Leo yesterday had been resolved without involving their father.

“Donatello tells me that you have been having some difficulty coming to terms with the death of the young man that had attacked him,” Master Splinter said ending the silence.

“Donnie worries too much,” Raph responded. He had been hoping that he could deal with this on his own without having to worry any of his family.

Master Splinter smiled at his son’s attempt to circumvent the conversation. “As well he should as both your brother and chosen partner,” he pointed out. “He is not alone in his worries. You are having nightmares and even attacked Leonardo though I doubt that it was he you intended to hurt.”

Raph knew that his father wanted a response and nodded wordlessly. What Master Splinter had said was true but Raph wasn’t ready to admit it out loud yet.

“Taking a life is never easy and I hope you never find it so but it has been a while since you have reacted so strongly about a death,” Master Splinter alleged. “I wish to understand the troubles you are having so that I may help you resolve them.”

Finishing the tea in his cup Raph set the china down on the table and just stared at it for a moment. “I’m not sure that I understand it either sensei,” Raph admitted. “It’s not the killing that bothers me. He was gonna kill Don and there was no way that I was gonna let that happen. It was just that I was so angry when I did it. I couldn’t stop stabbing him even after he was dead. It was like I couldn’t stop myself and I didn’t want to even if I could.”

Master Splinter reached for the teapot and poured more into his son’s cup so he may have something to do with his hands. Raph took the invitation and quickly picked the cup back up and brought it to his lips again.

“I believe I understand what you are saying,” Master Splinter assured him. “I have cautioned you many times about letting your anger control you on the battle field. It can lead to being impulsive and taking foolish chances. But there are some times that it cannot be helped. When it comes to the people we love it is not always possible to separate our emotions from the situation.

“Your anger took control but only after the threat had been neutralized. Even with your brother you were not fighting as hard as you could have. You need to forgive yourself for your anger. For the burden of taking a life all I can suggest is to seek solace in the fact that you saved your brother’s life and that he is safe within our home. I am here if you ever need to speak to me my son for I would have done the same if I had been there and he was threatening my son.”

“Hai. Thank you sensei,” Raph responded before setting the cup back down, bowing, and leaving the room. He wasn’t completely back to his old self but his did feel lighter than he had since that fateful night. Now all he needed was to find Don and be reminded of what he had been fighting for.


	290. Miscalculation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 16th - Explosion

After Raph’s talk with Master Splinter yesterday he felt a lot lighter. He knew that his explosive anger was something that he would most likely have to fight for the rest of his life but he knew that he had his family to lean on and seek help from. As long as he had them he would never give in.

Right now Raph was still in the dojo having a friendly spar against his older brother. It was his way of telling Leo that he was trying to get better and Leo’s way of telling Raph that he knew and respected the effort Raph was putting in to improving himself.

The best part about their spar was the competition between them. It was friendly and enjoyable without being antagonistic. They were pushing each other to be their best without causing the other to feel threatened.

Everything was going well until they heard a loud bang coming from out in the lair that pulled them from their spar and sent them running out of the dojo as fast as they could. Looking around for the source of the noise Raph saw a billow of smoke rolling out of Don’s lab.

Without thinking about what he was doing Raph rushed in there to find his mate. The second he stepped through the door Raph lost the ability to see more than a foot in front of him. It was the sound of coughing that led his to where Don had been seated. Wasting no more time Raph grabbed Don by his arms and all but dragged him out of the lab.

“I didn’t save your ass the other night just to have you go and blow yourself up and your lab,” Raph thundered as he dragged Don away from the smoking doorway of his lab.

Don coughed trying to clear his lungs of the smoke that he had inadvertently breathed in. “It wasn’t my intention to blow up my lab,” he protested. “It was only supposed to be a tiny explosion but I must have miscalculated the reactivity of the chemicals that I was combining.”

“What exactly were you trying to do?” Raph asked as he steered his mate towards the couch.

Before Don had the chance to answer Mikey was suddenly in front of his holding out a glass of water. Don accepted the glass and gulped down the water trying to clear out his throat before trying to talk again.

“I was working on some explosives to add to the Battle shell as well as creating a smaller version that we could carry with us on patrol like we done with smoke pellets,” Don explained.

“Could we really carry mini explosion pellets around with us?” Mikey asked with the excitement clear in his eyes.

Raph reached around and smacked Mikey on the back of his head and Leo shot him a scorching look that told him he needed to settle down. Even he wasn’t sure that it was a good idea for Mikey to have easy access to explosives. His pranks were already over the top enough without that addition.

A sigh escaped Raph’s lips when he saw the earnest expression on Don’s face. He had really only been doing what he could to help out their family. It wasn’t even like this was the first time he had ever blown up his lab.

“I think the smoke has cleared out now if you need a hand cleaning up your lab,” Raph offered.

Don gave Raph soft smile and rose to go clean up the mess he had inadvertently made. Mikey followed along behind him trying to get more information about getting an explosion pellet. Leo was right behind to offer a helping hand and try to keep Mikey under control.


	291. Sneaky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 17th - Song

Raph’s birthday was just over a week away and Don wanted to get working on his gift. This meant that he needed to sneak some stuff out of his lab and up to the garage without being spotted by his mate.

Don wasn’t too concerned about being seen by Leo or Mikey since he knew that they would either not be interested in what he was doing or would keep it secret. It was Raph that Don wanted to be sure didn’t find him. He knew that if Raph spotted him he wouldn’t be able to get away because Raph would be curious as to what he was up to, preventing Don from escaping and hiding his present.

Don slowly opened the door to his lab and glanced sneakily around the lair to see if the coast was clear before leaving his safe haven. Once he was sure that Raph was nowhere to be seen Don grabbed the small bundle containing what had needed to make his gift and made a run for the elevator up to the garage.

Managing to slip inside the elevator without anyone the wiser a wide smile spread across Don’s face at his success. As the elevator pulled up into the garage Don was surprised to hear one of Raph’s favorite songs blasting out of the radio.

Don froze in place for a moment thinking that he had been caught. His one saving grace was that Raph had his back to the elevator and the song was turned up so loud that Raph hadn’t noticed the appearance of his mate.

Using the golden opportunity that was presented to him Don moved quickly and ducked behind the Battle shell before Raph could look up and see him. Working as fast as he could Don opened one of the side panels and slid the bundle inside where it hopefully would go unnoticed until he was ready to work with it.

Once he was sure that his secret was hidden and safe Don walked around to the front of the Battle shell and faced his mate. Raph still had his back to him while he was messing around replacing a tire on his shell cycle. The thing that amused Don the most was how Raph was dancing along in time to the song.

Raph was bobbing his head up and down to the beat of the song and was swaying his hips from side to side. To top it all off Don could also see Raph’s tail wiggling back and forth to show his obvious excitement.

The sight of his lover like this was too much of a temptation for Don. Quietly he crept up behind Raph making sure to make no noise as he went. As soon as he was close enough Don’s hand shot out and grabbed onto the wiggling tail and attempted to hold it firm.

Raph jumped nearly a foot in the air as soon as he felt the touch to his sensitive appendage. He tried to spin around to face his attacker and free himself but Don just spun with him enough not to lose his grip on the tempting portion of Raph’s anatomy.

Surging forward Don pressed his mouth to Raph’s initiating a bruising kiss. While he hadn’t intended on starting anything with his lover during his mission to the garage Don wasn’t about to pass up such a wonderful opportunity. Besides, he had to make sure that Raph didn’t have enough working brain cells to question why Don was there and what he had been up to.


	292. Needy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 18th - Beautiful

Raph was still a little peeved that Don had gotten the better of him yesterday in the garage. It wasn’t so much that Don had taken the opportunity to top him. His mate was one hot commodity and Raph knew it. He would never complain about Don wanting to take the lead every now and again.

What Raph took more offense to was more that he had been so quickly over powered by a simple grab to his tail. He felt like he should have had more control over himself. It was just a simple touch but he feel apart in mere moments.

He was now determined to even out the score. Raph had bided his time all day and now as night fell and beds were calling to weary turtles it was time to strike. He had everything in place that he would need to make Don melt in his hands. All he needed now was the olive skinned turtle himself.

A few minutes of waiting and soon Don was crawling into bed and cuddling right up to Raph’s side. Raph couldn’t have planned Don’s actions better as he started trailing kisses along his smaller mate’s neck. Don just moaned and leaned his head back to give Raph more access to the sensitive area.

It wasn’t very long before Raph had Don on his back and had worked his way in between his widely spread legs. Groping at the muscles that made up Don’s biceps, Raph carefully guided Don’s hands up until they reached the headboard of the bed.

It wasn’t until Don felt his hands being tied to the bed that he realized that Raph had other plans than just a quickie before going to sleep. Looking up he saw the devilish smirk that had taken up residence on the hothead’s face. With a matching smile Don settled back to enjoy whatever kinks Raph had planned for the night.

Seeing that his mate wasn’t about to protest the change of pace Raph moved on to the next part of his plan. Grabbing a pillow that had been pushed aside he shoved it under Don’s hips which thrust his ass up into the air.

Picking up the bottle of lube that had so nicely been left by the bedside table Raph squirted some onto his fingers and started prepping Don’s entrance. With the steady massage to his prostate by Raph’s finger Don let his erection drop down into the open.

When Raph finally removed his finger Don had been expecting him to replace it with a different portion of his anatomy. Instead he felt something harder being inserted inside of him. Before he could ask what it was Raph gave it a twist and it started moving.

The only thing Don could think of that it could be was the purple vibrator that he had bought early in their relationship that he had used on Raph once. Glancing up into Raph’s face, Don could assume that he was right based on the look that his mate was giving him.

Raph for his part had dropped down and was now stroking himself slowly as he watched Don wiggle on the bed. He looked so flushed and needy that Raph had to concentrate on not finishing too early with his own hand. His mate just looked so beautiful like this.

Don was panting loudly at this point. “Please,” he moaned almost incoherently. “Please Raphie, please.”

“What’s the matter Donnie-boy?” Raph whispered in Don’s ear. “What do you want?”

“You,” Don gasped. “I want you inside me. Please!”

Raph couldn’t hold back with Don begging him like that. Moving fast he pulled out the vibrator. Turning it off he threw it to the side and plunged himself to the hilt into Don’s waiting passage. After the teasing that they both had been suffering it didn’t take but a few hard, fast thrusts before they were both climaxing.

Together they rode out the waves of their orgasms until completion. Once Raph had completely emptied himself inside of Don he reached up and untied his hands. With his hands now free Don removed the pillow from under his hips and turned so that he was cuddled up against Raph much like he had been when he first came to bed. Raph was happy with his payback but more happy to have Don nestled up beside him.


	293. Darkness to Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 19th - Ugly

It was pitch black as Don worked his way through the lair to his lab. Mikey had been having one of his video game marathons in the living room and had overloaded the outlet causing the power to go out in all of the lair.

Yelling had immediately begun the moment everything went black. There had also been loud crashed and bangs as everyone tried moving around and couldn’t see where they were going. Ninjas they might be but they were also boys that left their things scattered around their home on the floor to trip over if they weren’t careful.

Don finally made it into the lab and fumbled around until his hand came in contact with a flashlight he kept for occasions such as this. Now that he had a spark of light to see by he ignored the sounds of his brothers stumbling around outside of his lab and concentrated on looking for the spare fuses that he kept for when things like this happened.

As Don was searching through one of his desk drawers that he knew had his extra fuses in it Raph stumbled into the room having been drawn there by the only source of light. Walking over Raph took the flashlight from Don’s hands and held it up so Don would have both hands free to search.

Eventually the fuse was found and Raph followed behind Don as they made their way to the closet that had the fuse box in it. Mikey was still moaning about all the lost hours of gaming since he hadn’t gotten a chance to save his work before losing everything. Leo was at his side trying to be helpful but failing miserably.

Changing the fuse was just a matter of clearing out space to get to the box, taking out the blown out one, and replacing it with the new one. Clicking the fuse into place Don heard the decisive snap and Mikey’s whoop of joy coming from the living room told him that the new fuse had done its job and that the lights were now back on in their home. Raph still held the flashlight up as Don went to shut the fuse box since very little of the outside light penetrated into the closet.

In the faint glow of the flashlight Don couldn’t help but notice how his hands looked. They were scared from all the experiments that he had done and the hours that he spent digging through garbage at the junk yards. The shadows that were being cast on them only made their appearance worse.

Ugly was the only word that Don could think to use to describe his hands. They were thick and scared and marked. He didn’t know how anyone could find them even remotely attractive. Raph noticed the direction that Don was staring at.

Reaching around his mate Raph took one of Don’s hands in his own and brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on each knuckle. He knew that sometimes Don could be self conscious about how he looked but to Raph, he could never be considered ugly. Don was the most gorgeous turtle in the world and Raph considered himself so lucky to have him.


	294. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 20th - Brilliant

Lunch had finished up a few minutes ago and Don was just putting the last of the dishes away after having washed them. Mikey had originally planned to do this chore but Don had needed a good excuse not to spot Raph while he worked with his weights.

There were two reasons for Don not wanting to spend time watching Raph get all sweaty while he lifted those heavy weights over his head and made those appealing grunting noises as the weights got heavier. One was that if he was there while Raph was doing that he wouldn’t want to leave and the other reason was that Raph would probably question him if he did try to leave.

Don couldn’t afford either scenario at the moment. He had plans for the afternoon that didn’t involve his mate knowing what he was up to. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Raph around him but more that he didn’t want Raph to see what his present was before his birthday in four days.

In preparation for sneaking up to the garage without Raph noticing, Don had come up with a brilliant plan. With lunch having finished and the dishes needing to be washed, Don offered to do them in Mikey’s place knowing that his younger brother wouldn’t argue with him.

This meant that Don wouldn’t be able to go with Raph to the dojo to spot him during his weight lifting. He would still need someone for that job and Don knew that Leo would agree to do it just to make sure that Raph didn’t hurt himself trying to do too much. Raph and Leo had always had a competitive streak between the two of them and Don was certain that Raph would keep going longer than normal just to show off to their leader.

Knowing that the coast was all clear Don quickly made his way over to the elevator without rushing and drawing unwanted attention to himself. When the doors reopened Don was greeted with the sight of an empty garage just how he had left it.

Purposefully he walked over to the Battle shell and opened the side panel where he had stuffed the bundle of supplies that he would need in order to work on Raph’s present. He had to move a few things in order to get to it but that just told him that it had been undisturbed from the time that he had put it there.

With the bundle in his hands Don made his way over to his work bench and set it down. Swiftly it was unrolled and the supplies that he had carefully scavenged and brilliantly hidden in his lab away from prying eyes were now laid out before him.

Don carefully ran his hands over the tools and parts spread before him as he got ready to go to work. He had worked hard in planning exactly what he was going to do for his mate for his birthday ever since his own special day when Raph had given him his gift.

Don knew the work and the planning that Raph must have done to think of combining their rooms together and having them move in. As brilliant as he could be when it came to creating new electronics, Don was more hesitant about the things he made for Raph. He truly cared for his mate’s opinion and didn’t want to let him down. Least of all on his birthday.


	295. Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 21st - Hit

It was a normal morning in the lair. Leo was in the dojo practicing some katas with Master Splinter. Don had been fixing a connection with the tv that had been on the fritz since Mikey blew out the power. Mikey was stealing Raph’s sais and Raph was chasing behind him trying to get his weapons back.

Raph had just cornered Mikey in the living room went to hit him in the hopes of knocking some sense into him but the little squirt moved too fast. The bigger problem than Raph just missing his youngest brother was the fact that Don had been standing right behind Mikey when he moved.

Raph didn’t see Don standing there until it was too late and was unable to pull his punch in time. Don saw the hit coming at the last second and tried to move out of the way but was a hair too slow and took the hit on his left shoulder knocking him to the ground.

On his way down Don tried to control his fall and automatically stuck his hands out to brace himself but didn’t get a good angle. The moment his wrists took his body weight Don heard a nasty crack sound and pain shot through his right wrist.

As soon as he hit the floor Don instinctively brought his injured wrist in close to his body in order to protect it from further harm. Raph was down by his side in an instant with his hands fluttering about trying to find the best way to help his fallen mate.

Slowly Don sat up with Raph’s help and cradled his right wrist in his left hand so that he could examine the damage that had been done. Carefully he tried to rotate his wrist and hissed in pain as it moved.

Running his fingers over it he could at least tell that nothing had been broken. Most likely it was just badly sprained. Don knew that he would probably have to wear a brace for the next few days but it wasn’t like it was the first time that this had ever happened to any of them so he wasn’t very worried about it.

What did bother Don was the heartbroken look on Raph’s face as he stared back and forth between his mate’s injured wrist and the bruise that was starting to form on Don’s shoulder from where he had hit him.

“We’ve got to get up to the infirmary,” Raph lamented. “I’ll take a look at your wrist and get you something for the pain.”

“Raph it’s okay,” Don said trying to stop his mate’s guilt trip as Raph helped him to his feet. “It’s just a sprain. An Ace bandage and some Aspirin and I’ll be as good as new.”

When Raph opened his mouth to keep protesting Don covered it with his left hand. “I know you didn’t mean to hit me,” said Don. “It was just an accident that I fell and that I hit the ground the way I did. There was nothing that you could have done.”

“Still feel bad,” Raph murmured.

Don placed a chaste kiss on Raph lips in an effort to make his frown disappear. “I know,” Don acknowledged. “If you feel that bad you can help me wrap my wrist. It’s nearly impossible to do one handed.”

Raph followed along at Don’s side ready and willing to help his mate. He knew that what had happened was an accident but that didn’t make it any easier. He didn’t like seeing his mate in pain and liked it even less when he was the cause of it. Now it was time for him to fix his mistake.


	296. Making A Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 22nd - Scream

Don could tell that Raph was still upset about having been the cause for Don getting his wrist hurt yesterday. No matter how many times Don told him that it wasn’t his fault and Raph said that he knew that, his eyes told a different story.

More than once Don had caught Raph eyeing the bandages on his hand and frowning. It was starting to drive Don to his wits end. If something didn’t happen soon to change Raph’s thinking Don didn’t know what he’d do.

It was when they were going to bed for the night that the last straw broke for Donnie. Raph had been extra careful when he laid down not to jostle Don’s hand and had tried to place it on a pillow for the night.

Don had enough of the delicate treatment. He wasn’t a fragile china doll that would break at the slightest touch and he planned on showing that to his lover. If the only way to do that was to make some part of Raph as tender as his wrist then Don knew just what he would do.

With a speed that Raph wasn’t expecting Don pushed him back onto his carapace and wormed his way in between his legs. Before Raph could utter a sound in protest Don’s lips had already covered his own and he was working his tongue in between his lips to do battle for dominance of his mouth.

While Raph was fully occupied with the invasion of his mouth Don planned for his next attack. This next stage had two parts. As his injured hand caressed and played with Raph’s tail the other was busy grabbing the lube, coating his fingers, and prepping the tight entrance to Raph’s body.

The sudden assault on his body, though unanticipated, was still having a dramatic effect on Raph. As Don’s finger worked at widening him it was also taking the time to poke at his prostate, sending bolts of pleasure through his body.

It wasn’t very long before Raph’s member had dropped down to make an appearance. Don ignored it in favor of sliding a second digit into Raph and moving the hand that had been playing with his tail up to grip at Raph’s hip bone.

The overwhelming sensations were too much for Raph and he was soon screaming Don’s name into his mouth as he climaxed. As Raph began to pant Don pulled away in order to let Raph catch his breath and get himself back under control.

While Raph was busy trying to get his body under control Don wasn’t idle. He picked up the bottle of lube again and finally let his own erection make an appearance. Quickly coating himself Don wasting no time in shoving him cock inside Raph straight to the hilt hitting Raph’s prostate dead on once again.

Raph barely bit back the scream of pleasure as Don began rocking into him at a furious pace. Churrs filled the room and Raph moaned as he felt himself beginning to harden for the second time that night. Don’s thrusts didn’t slow but he did use his uninjured hand to take hold of Raph’s erection and jerk him off.

Pretty soon they were both trying to hold back screams of passion as they reached their climax. Once Don was sure that he could move again he rolled off of Raph and tucked himself back inside while he watched his lover do the same thing.

Catching Raph’s eye, Don smirked as he cuddled up next to him and threw his bandaged wrist over Raph’s waist and pulled him closer. Raph’s face finally relaxed from its concerned frown as he understood what Don had been trying to tell him. He would do his best to stop acting like a mother hen when it came to Don’s injury. After all, Leo played that part much better than he did.


	297. Ache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 23rd - Sigh

Don was gently pulled from his slumber by the sound of his alarm going off. Carefully he extracted one of his arms from the possessive hold that Raph had on him in his sleep and reached over to turn the sound of the music off. They could afford to lay in bed for a few more minutes before getting up to start the day.

A content sigh escaped from Don’s lips as he sniffed the air around them. Their combined scent along with the powerful smell of sex still hung in the air from their late night activities from the previous evening. No matter how many times they were together Don knew he would never get tired of breathing in that particular smell.

A quick glance over at the clock told Don that he and Raph had laid in bed as long as they could afford to. If they didn’t want to be late for practice they would need to get up now. Instead of just shaking his lover’s arm in order to rouse him, Don had a better idea.

Sitting up slightly, Don leaned his body over Raph’s and gently placed his lips on top of his mate’s. Slowly he began to move his mouth against Raph’s to illicit a response. Eventually Raph started to kiss back more easily as he became more awake. When Don pulled his mouth away Raph let out a small sigh at the loss of contact.

“Good morning,” Don whispered.

“It certainly is if I’m gonna be woken up like that all the time,” Raph teased as he leaned up to reclaim the lips that had left his.

Together they enjoyed the small pleasure that was a simple kiss before Don pulled away again. “We need to get up now,” he said. “If we don’t we’ll be late for practice and Leo will come barging in here to drag us downstairs.”

Raph nodded sleepily as he continued to lay in bed for a minute while he watched Don get up and start putting his gear in place. It wasn’t like the belt and elbow pads really covered all that much but they still served the same purpose as clothing did for humans. Plus watching his mate get dressed had always had a kind of allure to Raph for some reason that even he didn’t quite know.

Finally Raph knew that he couldn’t stay in bed any longer and started to roll himself up. The sigh of resignation that had just been leaving his lips turned into a low groan as his weight came to rest on his lower extremities.

The biggest downside to topping Don all the time for Raph was that when the tables did get turned he really felt it the next morning. It wasn’t pain exactly that he felt, more of an ache. Kind of like when he worked his muscles too hard lifting weight and his arms were sore the next day.

Remembering back to last night and how he had ended up with a sore ass today, Raph couldn’t help but smile as he began putting on his own gear. He would live with the ache that he had now if it meant that he got to see his lover as free and passionate as he had been last night.


	298. Raph's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 24th - Red

Raph was in a very happy mood today. It was his birthday and so far everything was going wonderfully. Mikey had gotten up a bit early in order to make his favorite breakfast of ham, cheese, and bacon omelets with some red peppers sprinkled on top.

As breakfast was finishing Master Splinter presented Raph with his gift. It was a year’s subscription to _Cycle World Magazine_. He knew his son’s passion for his shell cycle and knew that he would be able to find interesting facts and tips on how to keep it running well.

When everyone had finished breakfast and gone to the dojo to begin practice Raph saw the second of his gifts, this one given by his brothers. Hanging in the corner instead of his old, beat up punching bag that had more tears in it than he could count was a new one.

Mikey had bounced over and explained that it was a gift from both him and Leo. It had been Mikey’s idea because the old one was getting too worn out of him to pull any pranks with without it falling to pieces. Leo’s contribution had been finding the material and stitching most of it together.

As the day wore on Don kept putting off Raph’s questions about what he had gotten for his gift. Raph knew that Don had been up to something and the anticipation was starting to drive him crazy. Finally once they had all finished dinner Don took hold of Raph’s hand and started dragging him towards the garage.

“I know my gift can’t quite compare with what you did for me for my birthday and having us move in together but I do think you’ll like what I did for you,” Don said to Raph as he led him over to the elevator that would take them up to the garage.

“If it’s from you than I know that I’ll love it,” Raph replied as the doors closed behind them. “I love everything that you do.”

Don could feel his cheeks turning red at the compliment from his mate and was grateful when the elevator doors finally reopened so he could focus back on what he was doing for Raph. Stepping out of the elevator Raph looked around for anything that was out of place and noticed right away that his shell cycle had been moved to a more prominent position and had a large red bow tied onto the front of it.

Walking over Raph started running his hands all over the frame of his baby looking for something that was out of place or different. He had no doubt that Don had done something to it since it had a red bow on it and was obviously the same bike. When he couldn’t find anything different about his bike Raph turned to face Donnie knowing that he would explain what he had done.

“I installed some new fuel injectors into the motor,” Don began to explain. “They aren’t like anything that you can buy in a shop. I made them myself and they’ll make your bike go really fast.”

Raph’s eyes lit up at those key words and he was soon back at Don’s side claiming his mouth in a fierce kiss that showed just how much he loved his gift. When he pulled back he saw Don holding up the keys to the bike with one hand.

“Wanna take it out for a spin?”


	299. Cough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 25th - Strawberries

Getting out of bed in the morning was more of a chore that it normally was. The only difference today was that Raph and Don’s reluctance to leave the warmth and comfort of their bed had nothing to do with wanting to remain near each other and everything to do with not feeling well.

Raph had been so excited last night about the upgrade to his bike that he had immediately taken Don up on his offer of taking the bike out for a drive to test the new fuel injectors. They had barely taken the time to put on some clothes in an effort to ward off the chill before Don was seated behind Raph on his bike and they were taking off into the night.

They had kept to a decent speed in the more populated areas but as soon as they were out of the city limits Raph had let it all go and they were flying. The problem came with the fact that it had been raining earlier and it became impossible to avoid all of the puddles that lined the road.

By the time Raph and Don had returned to the lair they were soaking wet and their clothes were clinging to their skin. Even a hot shower hadn’t been enough to make them feel truly warm. This is what led them to their current position of stumbling out of their bed with small coughs echoing from their chests.

Once they were down in the kitchen they each had a cup of coffee to try and wake themselves up and nibbled on the fruit that Mikey had left out in the counter. Having had their fill of apples, strawberries, and grapes they followed behind their brothers, stumbling into the dojo for practice in the vain hopes that they wouldn’t be slaughtered.

Those hopes were not to be realized as neither one of them won a single spar against either Leo or Mikey and their own came out to a tie when they simply couldn’t finish. Master Splinter was understanding however and simply ordered them to rest for the remainder of the day.

When they left the dojo their coughs were still persisting and Don went to the bathroom cabinet to grab the cough syrup in the hopes that it would help. The moment Raph saw his mate approaching with the cough syrup and a table spoon he blanched at the sight.

“Come on Raph,” Don all but whined when he saw his mate’s expression. “You know I’m not being mean and that you need to take it. Look, it’s even strawberry flavored.”

“Yeah that tastes like strawberries and I’m the Easter Bunny,” Raph complained even as he held his hand out for the measuring spoon full of medicine anyway.

Quickly he stuck it in his mouth and started swallowing. No matter how fast he tried though he could still taste the disgusting flavor that lingered in his mouth and made him want to gag. Don follow suit with his own spoon and had a similar reaction to the taste.

“At least there’s one good thing about all of this,” said Don trying to look on the bright side.

“Oh yeah. What’s that?” questioned Raph.

“We get to spend all day together in bed,” Don pointed out as he held out his hand form Raph to take so they could head back to their room for the rest of the day.


	300. Resting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 26th - Lie Awake

The sound of coughing reached Don’s ears as he approached the door of his room. Both he and Raph were still sick and had been told by their father that they should spend the day resting. They had both decided to take Master Splinter up on his request.

The only reason Don had been up in the first place was because he was thirsty and had needed some water. When he got to the door he entered the room as quietly as possible. Don didn’t want to take the chance of waking Raph up if he had finally managed to fall asleep.

Sleeping had been a big problem for both of them last night. For most of the night hours they had laid awake unable to fall asleep. Coughing, sneezing, and tossing and turning were bad enough on their own. The harder part was the timing of those annoyances.

It seemed like whenever Don would be able to settle down and begin to fall asleep Raph would be lying awake and restless and vice versa. Briefly Raph had considered moving to lie in his hammock while Don stayed in the bed so they could both sleep.

When Raph had voiced his idea Don had shot it down immediately and clung to his lover. As bad as he was feeling Don knew that being alone in bed when he was so used to being next to Raph and drawing comfort from him would be even worse. Raph didn’t keep arguing and just pulled Don close into his side.

Now that it was morning they were both very tired. Just going down to the kitchen to get some water had been exhausting for Don. He was very happy to be back to his room. Cautiously he made his way over to the bed and crawled in as slowly as he could to try and not disturb Raph who appeared to be resting comfortably.

As Don settled back under the covers in the bed Raph blinked his eyes open to stare at his mate. Seeing that everything was fine with his mate he closed his eyes again. He wasn’t quiet asleep yet and was lying awake in bed but moving was not something that he had planned at the moment.

Having been sitting on the front of the bike the other night Raph was the one that took the brunt of the splashes was water and he also provided a wind barrier for Don with none for himself. Unfortunately for Raph’s health this meant that his immune system was taking a harder hit than Don’s.

With Don’s body once again pressed against his own Raph’s felt his muscles relax. Even though the other’s presence had been a contributing factor to making it hard for him to sleep through the night Raph was glad that Don hadn’t let him move to the hammock. He was always able to relax when Don was near him.

As Don wrapped his arms around Raph and cushioned his mates head on his plastron he heard the soft snores emanating from Raph’s mouth. Don couldn’t help the soft smile that took over his mouth as he felt himself falling into sleep. They may be sick but at least they had each other.


	301. Brunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 27th - Feeling

Brunch found both Don and Raph seated with the rest of their family at the kitchen table. They weren’t feeling one hundred percent recovered from their colds yet though. There were still some coughs and sniffles that were hanging around but they couldn’t stand being cooped up in their room any longer.

Instead of partaking in the waffles, sausage, and bacon that Mikey had made for himself and Leo to share, Raph and Don settled on some lighter fare with Master Splinter. Their stomachs were only really feeling up to the toast and fruit salad that was covering Master Splinter’s side of the table.

As his sons took their seats Master Splinter scooped some of the fruit salad into two bowls which he placed in front of Raph and Don. “I am glad that you are both feeling better my sons,” Master Splinter told them.

“Thank you sensei,” Don and Raph croaked back in unison.

Hearing the cracking in his brothers’ voices Leo stood up and took the still hot tea pot off of the stove and brought it over to the table. Pouring the hot water into two cups and adding some tea bags, Leo handed the mugs to his brothers.

Don accepted his cup readily but Raph wrinkled his nose as he took his own. Sick or not Raph would never be a huge tea drinker. He was more than willing to leave that to his older brother and father. That didn’t mean that he was going to turn down something that would help with his sore throat however.

In an effort to try and make his mate laugh, Raph lifted his cup and tapped it against the side of Don’s before raising it to his lips and downing the entire contents of his cup in three quick gulps. While the taste may not have been to his liking the soothing feeling on his throat was relaxing and just about the only reason he would even bother with the drink.

Don on the other hand liked to sip at his tea and savor the feeling of it caressing his throat with its heat and making the aching feeling go away. He would have preferred to have coffee since its heat would have done the same thing but he wasn’t going turn down his older brother’s kind gesture.

The rest of brunch that passed by was relatively uneventful. Conversation was passed back and forth and everyone was able to get along with one another without an argument breaking out. This wasn’t completely unheard of but with four boys with completely different personalities living together in such close quarters things didn’t always go smoothly.

The only thing at brunch that came close to upsetting the pleasant mood was when Mikey started teasing Raph and Don about spending the past few days in bed together. He kept trying to imply that sleeping hadn’t been the only things that they had been doing while they were in there.

Raph’s quick slap to the back of his head wasn’t enough for Mikey to get the clue. He was just far too used to being smacked by Raph at that point. Leo’s smack was enough of a surprise to get his mate to catch on though. Don laughed at them and Master Splinter merely shook his head and smiled at his sons’ foolishness. He wouldn’t trade these moments for the world.


	302. Chef

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 28th - Redemption

Today was a good day as far as Raph and Don were concerned. They were both back on their feet and their colds had almost completely disappeared. They were even confident enough in their stomachs to handle heavier foods. Mikey however didn’t want to take any chances.

Instead of having two separate meals for lunch today like they had yesterday for brunch, Mikey decided to make soup for everyone to eat and enjoy together. While he knew that Don and Raph weren’t sick to their stomachs he still planned on being cautious and made homemade chicken noodle soup to eat.

While Mikey worked his brothers took their own spots in the kitchen to watch him. The speed that he used when moving the knife to chop the vegetables without cutting his hand was amazing to them.

They knew that they all could manage high speeds with dangerous weapons but there was something about watching their brother in action while he did it that fascinated them. They could only guess that it was his work with his nunchucks that gave him an extra edge when it came to wielding the knives so effortlessly.

It didn’t take long before all of the ingredients were in the pot and boiling away. While they waited for the soup to be ready Leo, Rah, and Don insisted on doing the clean up since Mikey had done all of the work prepping and cooking the meal.

In the time it took them to clean up, the soup was piping hot and ready to go. When the brothers sat back down at the table four bowls awaited them at their seats.

“This is pretty good Mikey,” Don complimented as tasted the soup.

“Pretty good,” Mikey responded incredulously. “This soup is better than just pretty good Donnie. I could be on the Food Network if I were a human.”

Raph snorted at his brother’s high opinion of himself and his cooking. He chose not to say anything however. Raph knew without a doubt that his brother, despite his overabundance for always bragging about himself, was telling the truth. His food was always amazing.

“You know, maybe I’ve even Iron Chef material,” Mikey continued on with ideas of grandeur. “They’ve got another season coming out next week. It’s a redemption one where chefs from the past are coming back.”

“Yeah Mikey,” Raph teased. “That’s where the redemption part of the title comes from.”

Mikey flushed a bit at having something so obvious pointed out to him even if he had already known it. He was just getting excited about something that he enjoyed and as his brother already knew from many past experiences, such as the Battle Nexus, when Mikey got excited about something he liked to talk about it.

“Besides Mikey, you wouldn’t be able to be on that show anyway,” Don reasoned with a smile.

“Oh yeah. Well why not?” Mikey asked as he stomped his foot in place.

“Because,” Leo said as he scooted his chair closer to Mikey’s. “We’d starve without you here to feed us.”

Don merely smiled at Leo having caught on to his train of thought and distracting Mikey from talking on and on about the Iron Chef Redemption coming on. Raph looked over and caught his eye. He jerked his head towards their brothers and made a kissy face that went completely unnoticed by them. Don just shrugged. He knew that there were times that he and Raph could get that caught up in each other and wasn’t about to tease their brother for doing the same.


	303. Swallow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 29th - Spit

Today hadn’t been nearly as pleasant as the weekend had been. Instead of staying at home where it was nice and dry and warm, the four brothers were out in the sewer tunnels trying to make sure that their home stayed that way.

Hurricane Sandy had been making its way slowly up the coast and was just beginning to hit New York today. With the expected rainfall the city had already stopped all subways and underground transportation for fear of flooding.

The subways weren’t the only place that all of the excess rain water could back up though. The sewers were likely to be a casualty as well. April had already offered her apartment to the Hamato family as a shelter away from all of the water.

They were considering April’s offer but first they needed to protect their home. In order to make sure that there was something to come home to and not just a reservoir of stagnant water where their living room used to be the boys needed to venture out into the sewers and shore up the tunnels that surrounded the lair.

They had already gotten most of the tunnels diverted and were now working on the last one. It was slow going having to slog through the water that was already starting to overflow onto walkway. They were all covered in gunk that none of them wanted to think about the origins for.

Don had insisted that they all wear rubber boots and multiple layers in order to protect themselves from the wet and the cold. He and Raph had just gotten over their own colds and neither of them were looking to get another or have Leo or Mikey catch their own.

As they worked together to set up a blockage to force the water to divert through other tunnels away from their home for the most part they couldn’t stop the water that would splash up around them. They had all gotten splashed at one point or another throughout the entire process.

Mikey had received the worst of the splashing though. He happened to have his mouth open when Leo’s footing slipped and sent a stream of water straight at his face. Mikey didn’t get his mouth closed fast enough and ended up with a mouth full of dirty water. Mikey’s immediate reaction was to start spitting the disgusting liquid out of his mouth which happened to land on part of Don’s arm.

“Hey!” Don exclaimed moving out of his brother’s range. “Watch where you’re spraying that stuff.”

“You’re telling me that if you just got a mouthful of disgusting sewer water you wouldn’t be spitting it out as fast as you possibly could?” Mikey snapped at Don.

“Yes for one very simple reason,” Don said back with a giant smirk on his face. “I never spit.”

Leo and Mikey just stared at Don like he had grown a second head. Their confusion only grew when Raph burst out laughing. Don sniggered at waited for his brothers to catch on. After a moment it became clear that Don had lost them.

“Don never spits,” Raph said as he handed Don’s duffle back to him and they started on their way back home. “He always swallows.”


	304. Temper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 30th - Control

Raph closed his eyes and counted to ten. He was doing his best to control his temper but he was only holding on by a thread at this point. Leo was really starting to get on his nerves and Raph could feel his temper beginning to rise.

When the hurricane had hit yesterday they had taken April up on her offer to stay in her apartment and wait out the storm. Having five people live in the lair all together could get cramped at times. Six people living in April’s apartment that was only meant for one person, two at most, meant that they were almost always on top of each other.

Even though this wasn’t the first time that they had all stayed with April, it didn’t necessarily make the living arrangement any easier. The loss of power didn’t do anything to improve any moods either. No power meant no hot water for showers and that wasn’t something that Don could go down to the basement to fix.

Raph wasn’t sure why but Leo seemed to be taking their confinement to the apartment personally. It was as though he was trying to will the storm to pass so that they could return to their home. Raph figured that it had something to do with the loss of control that Leo had over the situation. If things were beyond his control it was harder to protect his family and mister Fearless Leader didn’t like that one bit.

Knowing what his brother’s problem was wasn’t exactly helping Raph too much though. It just made him make more of an effort to control his temper. Leo’s pacing across the floor however as they waited out the hurricane was quickly sapping Raph’s desire not to snap at Leo.

From his position sitting on a side chair Don could look up from the book that he was reading and see how tense his mate was becoming. He was worried that Raph was getting closer to the breaking point and that an argument would soon break out between his two older brothers.

Arguing between the two brothers wasn’t unheard of and they had been getting better about talking to one another instead of yelling but that didn’t mean that they were perfect about it. And right now an argument would be even worse than normal.

With the wind and the rain outside and the sewers flooding with water, there was nowhere for either of them to go to cool off if it did come down to a yelling match. Don’s best bet was to try an overt the argument before it even began.

Standing up from his chair Don walked over to where Raph was sitting on the couch and plopped down into his lap. He could read just as easily by his lover as he could by himself. On his way to the couch Don also caught Mikey’s eye and motioned for him to go over and distract Leo.

Don knew that with Mikey working with Leo and with him looking after Raph they might just be able to preserve the peace until they could go back home. Even if they might not want to admit it, Don and Mikey sure knew how to control their mate’s and wrap them around their little fingers when they wanted, or in this case, needed to.


	305. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 31st - Funeral

The flood waters that had been brought in with Hurricane Sandy were finally retreating and power had been restored to the neighborhood. It was even possible to venture back down into the sewers to check on how the lair had held up. Leo had been all over that idea and volunteered as soon as Master Splinter had given the okay to head down to the lair.

Master Splinter’s one condition to Leo going down was that one of his brothers was to go with him. Just because they thought the water had gone down enough to make it safe to travel didn’t mean that they were correct or that Leo wouldn’t run into something else blocking his path that he might need help with.

Mikey had volunteered to go down with Leo and help him out in trying to see if the lair was habitable or not and to start the clean up. Raph was happy to hear it when Leo left through the basement exit. As far as he was concerned, Leo getting out of the apartment now was preventing him from having a premature funeral.

While they loved spending time with April and she didn’t mind having them as house guests, her apartment really wasn’t big enough for all of them to live there for long periods of time. Privacy was one of the biggest issues. April was used to having her home to herself and the boys now had no privacy to be with their mates in such close quarters.

While their brothers were down in the sewers checking on their home, Raph and Don were helping April out around her shop. Today was Halloween and the kids from around the neighborhood were determined to go trick or treating despite the clean up that still needed to happen.

This meant that April wanted her store nice and clean and set up for when the children arrived. She even wanted to decorate the store to give it a cooler atmosphere. She had decided to go with a funeral motif to try and bring in the creepy elements of Halloween.

This meant that while Splinter was helping April make sure that the shop itself was clean, Raph and Don were moving things around and decorating. The first thing they had to do was take down and bring the colorful artifacts that she had and put them back in the store room. Bright and colorful didn’t go hand in hand with a funeral.

Next they had to spread out black fabric over the furniture and bring out candles, some antique crosses, and a wooden box with a doll in it to simulate a casket. Once they had all of the decorations in place April had them changing out light fixtures and adding in some black lights to add to the mood.

Once April had gone over their work and approved the look that Raph and Don had created she gave them a treat for all of their hard work. They got first pick of the Halloween candy that she had stashed away for the trick or treaters. As they dug through the bucket they were both glad that they had chosen the work in the shop and not the sewer. It was cleaner and had better benefits.


	306. Big Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 1st - Moving In

Being able to move back into the lair yesterday night didn’t mean that everything inside their home was ship shape. Some water had leaked under the main door to the sewers and had soaked anything that had been left on the floor and left an unpleasant odor behind.

The boys’ rooms weren’t damaged since they were all on the second floor. Master Splinter’s room on the other hand had a wet rug that was beginning to smell by the time that they had gotten home yesterday. Mikey had offered his room to his sensei since he had all but moved in with Leo over the past few months.

Practice for today had been cancelled in an effort to clean up the lair and make it a pleasant place to live once again. By the end of the day all four of them were tired and glad to be done. Their home was a home once again and they couldn’t be happier about it.

Don had gone into his lab to check and see if there had been any water damage to anything important in there leaving Raph to his own devices. Raph was just about to go and join his mate just to have something to do when his shell cell started ringing.

Raph glanced at the caller ID quickly before flipping the phone open. “Hey Casey. What’s up?” Raph asked pleasantly.

“ _Hey Raph_ ,” Casey answered. “ _I just wanted to see if you would mind coming over here and helping me out with something_.”

“I’m pretty sure I can,” responded Raph. “Just let me check with Splinter and then I’ll be right up. I’ll give you a call if I can’t.”

“ _Sure thing man_ ,” Casey replied before hanging up the phone.

After checking with Master Splinter, getting the okay, and letting Don know where he was headed, Raph was soon on his way over to his best friend’s apartment. It was only about a ten minute run before Raph was knocking on the window for Casey to let him in.

“So what did you need my help with?” Raph asked as he looked around Casey’s apartment and saw that it looked cleaner than normal.

Casey fumbled around with two beer bottles, opening them and giving one to Raph before taking a seat on the couch. Raph took a sip from his bottle before joining his friend and waiting for him to speak. He knew that Casey would get to whatever it was he wanted to talk about in his own time and pushing wouldn’t help.

After having peeled off the entire label on his beer Casey finally sighed and began speaking. “This ain’t easy for me to ask,” Casey started. “Things between me and April have gotten more serious lately and I was hoping that I could ask you for some advice.”

“Whoa,” Raph said holding up his hands. “If you and April are having trouble in the bedroom I don’t want to know about it. April’s like a sister to me and I really don’t want to think about that.”

Casey grabbed a cushion from the couch and beat Raph over the head with it. “It’s nothing like that,” Casey protested as his cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

“April and I have just been going out for a long time now and I thought it was time that we moved in together but I’m not sure how to bring it up to her,” Casey explained. “I wanted to know how you and Don did it. This is a big step and I just don’t want to screw it up.”

Raph took another drink from his beer before answering. “Well when I moved in with Don it was a surprise for him,” Raph reminisced. “It was his birthday and that was my present to him. I guess I just waited until the time felt right, like I wanted to be with him all the time.

“With April though I wouldn’t suggest just moving in. I’d just say talk to her. She’ll know that moving in is a big step for you. She’s the only one that can tell you how she’ll feel.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Casey responded. “Just moving my stuff in there would be a whole lot easier though.”

“The best things aren’t always easy,” Raph said as his mind drifted to Don. Their relationship wasn’t always easy but it worked and Raph wouldn’t trade a single thing about it.


	307. Noxious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 2nd - Morning Breath

For the first time in three days Don was woken up by the sound of his alarm telling him that he needed to get up for morning practice. He couldn’t help the groan of annoyance that escaped from him as he rolled over to turn off the alarm. If he had his way he would roll over and go back to sleep right now.

Raph was also woken up by the music and the rustling of his mate moving around. Instead of trying to wake himself up enough to get out of bed however, Raph decided to bury his face in the pillows in the hopes that maybe all of this was a dream and he could keep sleeping.

Don on the other hand knew that if he left his mate like that than he would fall back to sleep and be late for practice. This would lead Master Splinter to dishing out a deserved punishment and more than likely a lecture from Leo as well. Both situations were to be avoided if at all possible.

At first Don tried a gentle shaking of Raph’s shoulder which was not enough to rouse him from his pillow fort. Instead of rising Raph just mumbled something unintelligibly, tried to shove Don away, and attempted to pull the covers over his head. Don’s gentle shaking turned more forceful until Raph finally raised his head to glare at his lover for interrupting his sleep even if it was in his best interest.

“I’m up. I’m up,” Raph growled as he pulled the covers away and took his head out of the pillows.

The moment Raph began speaking Don recoiled away from him as fast as he could manage without falling out of the bed. Quickly he waved his hand in front of his face in order to try and clear away the noxious smell that had emanated from Raph’s mouth.

“You have got to have the worst case of mouthing breath I have ever smelled,” Don complained.

This got Raph to sit up and take notice. He wasn’t quite ready to believe Don’s claims until he breathed into his own hand and gave it a sniff. Wrinkling his nose, he had to admit that he did have pretty bad morning breath.

“Okay, maybe you do have a point,” Raph admitted. “I’m not quite sure why it’s this bad today though.”

“My guess is that’s it‘s because of the beer that you drank while you were over at Casey’s yesterday,” Don rationalized. “Your breath always tends to smell bad the morning after you and Casey spend the night drinking.”

Raph ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth. In addition to bad morning breath his mouth also tasted disgusting. He had only had two beers over the course of the entire night which was barely enough to give him the smallest of buzzes and normally not enough to leave his mouth tasting so bad.

“Come on,” Don said as he got up out of the bed. “We need to get ready for practice and you’re not kissing me with that mouth until you’ve brushed your teeth.”

While getting ready for practice was on the short list of things that would motivate Raph to get out of his nice warm bed in the morning, it wasn’t on the top of that list. Not being able to kiss Don or be able to talk to him without scaring him off because of his morning breath was an even bigger motivator.


	308. Sharing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 3rd - Toothbrush

With five people living in the lair, four of whom are teenage boys, and only one bathroom for everyone to share, mornings could become a survival of the fittest race. The was exactly the predicament that they all faced this morning as they all tried to get into the bathroom to brush their teeth all at once.

Normally they didn’t put up too much of a fuss about waiting for there to be enough room for each of them to get a turn at the sink but today was different and it was all Mikey’s fault. This morning he had made scrambled eggs for all of them to eat for breakfast which is where the trouble started.

It had been a while since he had pulled any pranks on Raph and he just couldn’t hold himself back any longer. Mikey was well aware that Raph liked to put ketchup on his eggs when he ate them in the morning and had snuck some of the spiciest hot sauce they had into the ketchup bottle when no one was looking before placing it on the table.

The problem came when Raph accidently squired ketchup all over the whole plate of scrambled eggs that was meant for everyone when he struggled to get the cap off of the bottle. While Raph was the only one that preferred ketchup on his eggs no one hated it and they didn’t want the food to go to waste and so started eating it anyway.

That lasted up until everyone’s mouths were on fire. Drinking juice didn’t help and it became a rush to the bathroom to brush their teeth to try and quell the burning. Being the most agile, Mikey was able to weasel his way in first followed quickly by Leo and Don with Raph bringing up the rear.

Mikey was already at the sink with his toothbrush in his mouth and toothpaste dripping down his chin making him look like he had rabies by the time Raph got there. Raph tried to shove him out of the way in order to reach his own toothbrush but Mikey wasn’t budging and it soon turned into a shoving match which ended when Mikey’s elbow hit the counter and sent Raph’s toothbrush flying only to land in the toilet.

There was a look of horror that spread across both of their faces as they watched the toothbrush sink down to the bottom of the bowl. As Raph turned to scowl at his younger brother Mikey took off with Leo following behind to make sure he didn’t choke on the brush in his mouth.

“You can borrow my toothbrush when I’m done,” Don offered trying to placate his mate.

While Raph appreciated the sentiment he couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the thought. “I’m not sure Donnie,” he said. “Is that even sanitary?”

Don raised an eyebrow at Raph’s concern. “Raph with the number of times that you and I have been intimate with each other and the number of times that it has involved inserting certain body parts into each other’s mouths, you’re worried about sharing a toothbrush with me?” Don questioned.

Raph flushed at Don’s insinuation but had nothing to argue with. Don had a point and so Raph just nodded in agreement while he waited his turn. The more he thought about it the more he realized that Don had a point. With all of the things that they had shared up to this point, a toothbrush was no big deal.


	309. Fixing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 4th - Duct Tape

The trials of a turtle genius seemed to be never ending. No matter how many times Donnie fixed something it seemed like it either didn’t stay fixed for long or something else broke and took its place on his to do list.

The toaster was an item that was perpetually sitting on his desk waiting to be repaired. Don had lost count at seventy eight the number of times that he had managed bring the appliance back from the brink of death and return it to working order.

The TV and gaming system were some other things that Don was always having to look after and fix time and again. With so many TVs piled around and on top of each other wires were bound to get crossed or pulled out at times.

Mikey had the tendency to get so lost in his games that he might throw his controller and damage it. He also wasn’t the cleanest person and tended to leave things around his games that led to their demise. It didn’t help that it seemed like whenever Raph caught him after pulling a prank he was in front of his game and they became a casualty in his attempt to escape.

The vehicles that they all used when they moved around topside were also within Don’s domain to fix. Though Raph had taken a bigger part in helping with the creation of his shell cycle and took on an even larger role once he and Don began dating.

No matter what he had to fix there were certain things that Don always turned to, to help out. A lucky screwdriver or a trusted wrench for example. Duct tape however was never out of stock in Don’s tool kit. The shiny silver tape had held together many a project for Don and sometimes was the only thing that kept the lair holding together.

Appliances, furniture, electronics, and vehicles were all turned over to him when they needed to be fixed. Inanimate objects weren’t the only things that fell under Don’s umbrella to be repaired though. His brothers were their own separate category.

The whole reason they had to create a med bay was because of the injuries that all of them received when they started going topside more often. As the engineer of the family, it was Don’s skills that most closely resembled those of a doctor’s and so he became in charge of fixing his brothers when they broke.

Sometimes Don felt like he was drowning in the amount of things that he needed to fix. As fast as he moved it seemed like he could never keep up and no matter how hard he tried he would come apart at the seams and even duct tape wouldn’t be able to piece him back together again.

It was Raph that Don turned to when he felt that he couldn’t hold himself together any longer. Raph would be there to listen and help Don sort out whatever problem that Don was having at the time. Raph was Don’s duct tape.


	310. All Wrapped Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 5th - Saran Wrap

Don was moving around in the kitchen with purpose in his steps. Earlier that morning April had given the small family a call and invited them over to dinner at her apartment. She and Casey were going to move in together and they wanted to celebrate with their adoptive family.

Mikey had gone over to the apartment earlier to help April put together and cook dinner. While April was more than capable of making dinner, preparing enough food for seven of them was different from preparing dinner for just herself. Casey had tagged along and signed up to be the official taste tester as they worked.

With Mikey helping out with dinner, Don had volunteered to make dessert. He may not have been the culinary genius that his younger brother was but Don knew how to make a delicious chocolate chip cookie. Right now the first batch was in the oven and Don was currently working on mixing up a second batch. As delicious as dinner was sure to be, everyone always had room for dessert.

At the moment Don was alone in the kitchen while Leo shared an afternoon cup of tea with Master Splinter and Raph worked with his punching bag in the dojo. Don didn’t mind the solitude too much. It was common with all of the time that he had spent alone in his lab over the years. It also gave him a chance to sample some of the raw cookie dough out of the bowl while he thought that no one was looking.

When the oven timer went off Don took the cookies out and placed them on a cooling rack. He also slid the waiting dough into the oven so that it could get cooking. While he waited for the second batch to get done Don set about cleaning up the mess that he had made in the kitchen and washing the dishes.

By the time the clean up was finished the second batch of cookies were ready to come out of the oven and the first batch was ready to begin being plated. Don had just put the last cool cookie onto a plate when Raph came strolling into the kitchen.

Before Don had a chance to stop him Raph had already managed to grab two cookies off of the plate and pop them into his mouth. The proud smirk on his face stopped any rebuttal that Don had been thinking of. Instead he just reached under the cabinet and pulled out the saran wrap that he was going to use to cover the cookies until they got the April’s.

The problem with saran wrap is that it likes to stick to everything, including mutant turtles. Don managed to get half of the cookies covered before he became completely entangled in the saran wrap and couldn’t get himself loose.

“You know,” Raph said as he pulled out his sais to cut his mate free. “If we didn’t have to go to April’s soon I would be dragging you upstairs and unwrapping you much slower than this.”

Don couldn’t help up feel his knees weaken as he heard the hungry tone in Raph’s voice. He could only hope that the cookies would keep him satisfied until they could get home and up to their room tonight.


	311. Messy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 6th - Whipped Cream

With the 2012 election being decided tonight, Leo and Don were camped in front of the TVs in the living room watching the live news coverage at the polls. Raph and Mikey had also joined them. However their presence was more to spend time with their mates then because they wanted to watch every development of the election.

Mikey’s attention couldn’t be held by the different news anchors talking on and on about the different ways that the election could turn out without getting bored and possibly falling asleep. He did want to hang out with his mate though and so came up with an idea to give himself more energy to stay awake.

His brilliant ideas was to make himself a nice, large ice cream sundae with as many toppings as he could find in order to give himself a sugar rush to put up with the boring talk of politics. When he came back in the room Mikey was carrying a large bowl of ice cream with whipped cream piled so high it looked like it would soon come cascading down.

As he began to dig in no one could seem to take their eyes away from the sight of him shoveling the ice cream into his mouth like it would run away. Although, Raph and Don were staring for a whole different reason than Leo was.

Raph and Don couldn’t take their eyes away from the melted drops that were dribbling down Mikey’s chin and the whipped cream that was being smeared all over his face. All they could think about was the mess that was being made and how they weren’t going t be the ones stuck cleaning it up.

Leo saw the same thing that they did but had a completely different perspective on it. The dribbles only accentuated Mikey’s long neck as far as Leo was concerned. The whipped cream that encircled his mouth was just begging Leo to use his tongue to clean it off.

Pretty soon the temptation was too much and he hungrily attacked his younger mate’s mouth. It wasn’t long before Mikey had been pushed into the couch cushions with Leo trying to clean off every speck of ice cream with his tongue.

At this point Raph and Don weren’t sure if they had been forgotten or if their brother just didn’t mind having an audience. It certainly seemed that way when the unmistakable sound of churring began wafting through the air.

Beginning to feel uncomfortable with the show that their brothers either knowingly or unknowingly were putting on, Don and Raph got up and made their exit from the living room and headed up to their bedroom.

Along the way Raph made a quick detour to the kitchen. While he didn’t want to watch his brothers getting busy on the couch that didn’t mean that he hadn’t gotten an idea from them. He knew exactly where the whipped cream canister was kept and how much fun it would be to clean off Don while he wiggled underneath him.


	312. Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 7th - Fashion

Don was reluctant to leave his nice, warm bed and even more comfortable mate this morning but nature was calling and refused to be ignored. As he slid from the bed and stood up, Don couldn’t help but moan slightly at the dull ache in his lower extremities.

He and Raph had been up late last night. Don wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into his mate but Raph had sure had fun covering Don with whipped cream and cleaning him off again and again. Sleep had come very late and only after neither of them was physically able to keep their eyes open any longer.

After taking care of his business in the bathroom Don stood in front of the sink in order to wash his hands. It was only after he was reaching for the towel to dry the water off of his hands that he happened to glance up at the mirror.

What he saw in is reflection caused him to pause for a moment and tip his head to the side. There on his neck and across his shoulders were little red hickies from where Raph had sucked at his skin and bite marks from where he had gotten carried away.

A frown crossed Don’s face as he inspected the marks that had been left behind from his and Raph’s night filled with passion and lots of love making. It wasn’t so much that he minded being marked by his mate. In fact he really liked that idea. It was the fashion statement that he knew that he would be making and that Mikey would tease him mercilessly about.

He didn’t mind poking fun at himself but sometimes Mikey could get a little too carried away and wouldn’t know when to call it quits. He wouldn’t even be bothered in the slightest that he and Leo had been the ones to drive Don and Raph from the living room last night because they had gotten carried away on the couch and had forgotten where they were.

Deciding that he couldn’t hide in the bathroom all day Don left and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. By the time he entered the kitchen he could see that everyone else had already beaten him there and had started eating. It didn’t take long before he saw Mikey’s eyes catch onto his neck and fill with mischief.

“Donnie’s got a hickie. Donnie’s got a hickie,” Mikey sang out as he passed out breakfast to his brothers.

“Hey Mikey, nice marks. You going for a new fashion statement of black and blue on green?” Raph asked in a teasing tone of voice referring to the bruises on Mikey’s hips.

The blush that covered not only Mikey’s face but Leo’s as well showed that Raph’s comment had hit its mark. After that Mikey focused on the food in front of him and stopped teasing his brother. This didn’t mean that any of them had forgotten about the marks. Neither Don nor Mikey could stop fingering their own throughout breakfast. There was just something about them that made them feel connected to their mates and that was something that they loved.


	313. Clinging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 8th - Jeans

Despite the cold outside, runs to the junkyard were necessary. Fall was moving along and winter would soon be along right around the corner. This had been pointed out to the turtles with the Nor’easter that had just recently passed over the state leaving behind snow and freezing rain in its wake.

They had a working generator in the lair for the really cold stretches and in case of an emergency should they lose power. Some of the parts were old however and would need replacing in the near future. Knowing their turtle luck as they did the parts would most likely need to be replaced when the machines were most needed and could ill afford not to be working.

Because of the cold Don and Raph whom he had asked to tag along in case his muscle was needed had put on their human disguises which included large sweatshirts with hoods that could be pulled up both to conceal their identities and to block the wind as well as sturdy pairs of jeans.

Don had never found jeans to be very comfortable to wear since it was hard to find a pair that both fit around their shells without being too baggy around the rest of their bodies or so restrictive that it was hard to move around in them.

Another thing he didn’t like about the jeans was the way that they would stick to his legs when they got wet. With the snow and the rain that had just been dumped on the city Don was fairly certain that they would be getting wet while they were at the junkyard and he would be spending the first twenty minutes when they got back to the lair trying to peal the saturated material off of his skin.

Raph didn’t mind the jeans as much as his mate did. While Leo had been in South America and he had been running through the city as the Nightwatcher he was been wearing material that clung to his skin. Sure it could get itchy after he had been sweating for a while and it could be a pain to pull off but he was used to those annoyances and as such didn’t think twice about the pair of jeans that clung to the bulking muscles of his legs more and more the farther they travelled through the junkyard.

By the time they began walking home Don was grumpy over having found nothing useful on this trip and his legs itched from the way the jeans were rubbing against him. He longed to take them off but knew that if he did so now than the moisture that was still left on his skin would evaporate as they walked home and would cause him to feel even colder.

It wasn’t until they were back in the lair and Raph was following him into the bathroom that Don saw that there might be an upside to the material that had caused him so much grief. As much as he hated the clinging feeling, he had Raph to pull it off of him and being able to do the same for his mate was a lot of fun.


	314. Scavenging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 9th - Panic

Raph and Don were back out again tonight visiting a different junkyard. Just because they had struck out last night didn’t mean that their need for spare parts for the generator had vanished. Before leaving Don had pulled out a comfy pair of sweatpants to wear while they were out so he wouldn’t have to deal with jeans again.

The biggest challenge that they were facing with finding the parts that they were looking for was that no one was throwing away anything to do with a generator right now. With the hurricane from a few weeks ago and the storm that had come through earlier in the week, a lot of people were still without power and needed their generators or were too spooked to be without one right now with winter on the way.

After searching for a little over an hour they had found two pieces but not much else. They weren’t about to panic yet. If things got really bad they could use some of the money from their online business to buy new parts. Don was just so used to scavenging that he preferred to make what he could.

They were just preparing to leave when they noticed shadowed figures moving around and circling them. The way the figures moved silently and stayed to the shadows told Don and Raph that the company that had come to call on them was not the Purple Dragons but most likely a group of Foot ninjas.

Quickly Raph and Don slid into the shadows themselves and analyzed the positions of their enemies. They were blocking the exit that the turtles had intended to use meaning that they would either need to retreat deeper in the junkyard in search of another exit or try to break their way through.

The decision was made for them when suddenly the Foot stopped hiding and attacked. There were only six of them so while the fight was a fierce one, both Don and Raph knew that they could handle it without needing to call their brothers for back up.

During the fighting Raph and Don were separated from each other as the Foot ninjas tried to divide and conquer. Even alone the turtles were more than a match for the Foot soldiers and were faring very well in the fight.

At the sound of Raph’s pained grunt behind him Don felt a bit of panic raise up in his chest. He hated it when any of his brothers got hurt but that fear and worry always manifested itself more strongly with Raph due to their closer bond.

Without giving it a second thought Don spun around to face the Foot ninja that had been harassing Raph and knocked him back with his bo. The way the ninja crumpled to the ground told Don that he wouldn’t be getting up again anytime soon.

The last remaining ninja standing quickly received a sai handle to the back of his head knocking him out before he could try calling for backup. This was Raph and Don’s cue to quickly take their leave of the dump for the night. At this rate they weren’t going to be getting the parts that they were looking for, for a while if their luck with junkyards the past two nights was anything to go by.


	315. In The Dojo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 10th - Stutter

Raph wasn’t quite sure how he had gotten into this position but he wasn’t about to try and get out of it. He and Don were currently in the dojo but they weren’t training. Their family thought they were but Don had other plans for the evening.

From the moment evening practice had begun earlier that night Don had a growing problem that was very hard to contain. Tonight they had been working on getting out of various pins and holds. Don had been absolutely fine during his match up with Mikey but it was watching Raph trying to escape from Leo’s grasp that got him worked up.

Watching Raph’s muscles strain as he fought against Leo’s hold on him and hearing the grunts of exertion that made it past his lips had driven Don crazy. He didn’t know why it was affecting him so badly tonight. It wasn’t like he had never seen Raph practice before but for some reason it was turning him on like crazy right now.

This was how Raph had ended up kneeling on the middle of the sparring mat on his hands and knees with his ass in the air. When Master Splinter had dismissed them Don had stuttered through some excuse of staying behind with Raph for some extra help with escaping a choke hold.

As soon as everyone else had left and the door had closed behind them Don had pounced and it was Raph that had found himself pinned down with no way to escape. With Don’s mouth suddenly attached to his neck Raph was only able to stutter out the most basic of questions before succumbing to the desire his mate was stirring in his body.

Don had quickly moved lower on Raph and now had his tail in his mouth and was suckling on it as though his life depended on it. Raph had given up trying to talk since all that had come out were stuttered half sentences and had now gone to stuffing his fist into his mouth. He knew that the rest of his family was just on the other side of the dojo doors and he didn’t need them coming in to investigate any noise and find him in this position.

While Raph was managing to muffle the sounds of the moans that his body wanted so desperately to release he couldn’t stop the shudders that were travelling through him. Don always knew just where and how hard to touch him to get any response that he wanted.

Without taking his mouth away from Raph’s wiggling tail, Don did allow some saliva to drip down and coat the puckered entrance just below where he was working. Bringing one hand up Don ran a finger around the hole before pushing just the tip inside and wiggling it around. He wanted to show Raph just how turned on he had made him during practice.

With one final slurp Don removed his hand and let Raph’s tail fall out of his mouth. Before Raph had a chance to protest Don was standing up and heading towards the dojo doors. As much as he wanted to take Raph right then and there he knew that of he did their scent would linger and they were sure to get a lecture from their father about the proper time and place for such actions.

The flick of his tail just as Don walked out of the dojo was enough however to get Raph up on his feet and taking the stairs two at a time to get up to their room. If Don felt he could tease Raph and then just walk away than he had another thing coming.


	316. Possessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 11th - Satan

There was only so much any turtle could take before they were pushed past their limits. Don and Raph were quickly reaching those limits. Last night Don had pounced on Raph while they were alone in the dojo and had gotten both of them hot and bothered. He thought that they had left before too much of their scent had a chance to linger but apparently it hadn’t been soon enough.

All day Mikey had been making sly comments about how well the extra practice must have gone and asking if they stretched enough before beginning. The double entendres were very clear and very annoying.

It wasn’t so much that they minded their brothers knowing about what they did behind closed doors. That wasn’t exactly a huge secret. What they did mind was it becoming a big spectacle. Some things should remain private and not made fun of at any and every opportunity by a certain annoying younger brother.

Leo wasn’t being much help either. It was actually his fault that Mikey had noticed that anything was up in the dojo to begin with. Even on the day that they had no practice, Leo couldn’t break the habit of getting up at the crack of dawn to go through katas before breakfast. He was actually the one that had told Mikey that the dojo spelled funny while they were eating the oatmeal that Mikey had made.

Raph had already warned Mikey once that if he didn’t knock it off with his stupid comments that he would regret it. He just wasn’t quite sure what he could do in retaliation that wouldn’t get him in trouble with either Leo or Master Splinter.

Don on the other hand had no such qualms. He was everyone’s confidant and as such knew all of their weaknesses and how to use them to his advantage. Excusing himself from his brothers’ company Don stealthily made his way to the closet that housed the breaker panel.

With a few quick tweaks the lights in the lair started to flicker on and off. Don could hear Mikey’s girly yelp as he replaced the cover and headed back out into the main part of the lair with the lights still unable to decide whether they wanted to stay on or off.

“They’re possessed,” Mikey wailed. “They’re possessed by Satan and we’re all gonna die.”

“The lights aren’t possessed by Satan and we aren’t going to die Mikey,” Leo responded as he shot a mild glare over at Donnie.

Yes Mikey’s teasing was probably becoming insufferable but that didn’t mean that Donnie had to mess with the lights. They all knew about Mikey’s fear of the dark and it wasn’t nice to use that against him. It was also why Don had made it so they would only flicker and not just turn off completely.

“Come on Mikey, let’s go upstairs,” Leo suggested. “I know some things we can do without the lights on.”

Mikey’s eyes lit up hopefully at Leo’s words and he stuck his tongue out at Don as he walked past him. Raph on the other hand just chuckled and walked up behind Don and placed a kiss on his neck.

“Good thinking genius,” Raph complimented. “You got any other bright ideas left?”

“I think it’s your turn to think of something,” Don purred as he turned around and caught Raph’s lips with his own.


	317. New Position

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 12th - Dog

As soon as Don entered his bedroom he made a beeline for the bed and plopped down onto it face first. Raph couldn’t help but laugh at his mate’s expression. The Battleshell had been acting up when Don took it out for a spin and so he had spent the rest of the day on his back underneath it trying to find the problem.

Eventually Don had discovered that one of the belts was starting to come loose and needed to be tightened up before it fell off. This left him with a sore neck and shoulders that were tied up in knots by the time he was done.

Taking some pity on his mate Raph came up behind Don and gently started undressing him. The grunt of thanks that he got was all the incentive that Raph needed to continue on. Once they were both stripped of their gear Raph climbed on top of the back of Don’s thighs and started rubbing at his shoulders.

After a few minutes of the massage Don was feeling much more relaxed and very receptive to the kisses that were being placed along every patch of skin that Raph could reach with his lips. Raph didn’t stop with kisses and a massage however. His touches moved lower and Don could feel a certain part of his anatomy beginning to respond to the treatment.

As Raph pulled his hips up into the air Don realized that this would be the first time that they were having sex doggie style. Most of the time they just stuck with a missionary position. It created a sense of intimacy that they both liked when they were able to look at each other and share kisses.

Prepping didn’t take long and Raph was soon sliding his aching member into Don’s tight, warm body causing him to shudder and release his own member. No matter how many times they enjoyed each other it always felt amazing.

Don groaned loudly as Raph thrust even harder into him. It felt like every push hit his prostate dead on sending spikes of pleasure shooting throughout his body causing him to see stars. If Raph hadn’t been holding onto his hips with a bruising grip than Don was sure that he would have melted straight into the mattress. This position allowed Raph to slide even deeper into him and Don churred loudly in praise.

Raph could feel himself getting closer to his peak but was determined for Don to finish first. Letting go with one hand he reached down and started jerking Don off in time with his thrusts. Soon Don was spilling into his hand as his inner walls clenched around Raph pulling him into his own climax.

Don collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion but quickly rolled to the side with a grimace. He had landed in the wet patch of his ejaculate and wasn’t pleased.

“Great, now the sheets are ruined,” Don complained.

“We could always sleep in the hammock,” Raph suggested with a tender kiss to where Don’s neck met his cheek bone.

Don just groaned and allowed himself to be pulled out of the bed and into the hammock. Making love before bed and being rocked to sleep in Raph’s hammock was a recipe for a wonderful night of rest and being forced to lay close together so they wouldn’t fall out just made it even better.


	318. Voyeur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 13th - Cat

For the first time in a while Raph and Don had the living room all to themselves. There had been a history channel show on about the origins of Veteran’s Day dating back to Armistice Day from World War One and Don had wanted to watch it.

Raph had seen this as a perfect opportunity to have a date night together on the couch with just the two of them. With not so subtle hints, he had driven both Leo and Mikey out of the living room and up to their room for the night. Master Splinter had without any prompting left his two middle children to their own devices and retired to his own bed for the night.

Raph had been patient throughout the show, knowing that if he tried making too obvious a move Don would kick him out of the room and he would lose all chance of sweetly seducing his mate. Spending the night alone in bed while Don did his own thing was not the night that Raph had planned for the two of them.

This didn’t mean that Raph didn’t use every moment of the commercial breaks to his advantage. He started slow with just an arm around Don’s shoulders that moved to feeding him popcorn with his fingers to eventually making out whenever the show wasn’t on.

This left Don very open to the idea of just leaning back into the couch cushions the moment the show was over and letting Raph explore his mouth until his heart was content. As much as making love was extremely enjoyable for both of them, there was definitely something to be said about just making out on the couch for as long as they wanted and that was exactly what they intended to do.

After a few minutes Raph felt a prickle along the back of his neck and pulled away from Don so that he could survey the room. Everything seemed ordinary but something was telling Raph that he was being watched. On his second pass over the room he spotted the glowing eyes of Mikey’s cat staring at them.

Don followed Raph’s gaze and saw Klunk sitting on the other side of the room watching them. Thinking nothing of it Don tried to pull Raph’s face back down to his to resume their make out session but Raph wouldn’t budge. He just kept staring at the cat that was watching them.

Suddenly Raph pulled away from Don completely and marched over to where Klunk was sitting. Picking him up as gently as possible by the scruff of his neck, Raph carried the cat upstairs and towards Leo and Mikey’s room.

The unmistakable sound of churring behind the door didn’t stop Raph from wrenching it open and tossing Klunk in the direction that the sounds were coming from, ignoring the indignant squawks that his action caused.

“If your voyeur of a cat wants to watch someone than he can watch the two of you and leave me and Don alone,” Raph announced before closing the door firmly behind him and marching back downstairs.

Walking back over to where he had left Don, Raph returned to his previous position hovering over his mate. “Now where were we?” he asked with a grin.

Don’s only answer was a giant smile and to pull Raph down until their lips met once again.


	319. Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 14th - Heartbreak

Raph was growing restless very fast. He was a teenager with a whole city as his disposal to entertain himself with and yet he could find absolutely nothing to do to keep himself occupied. Raph also had a pretty good idea about a few people that he could blame for his present boredom.

First off was Donnie. Don had always been someone that Raph could hang out with and have fun together with as far back as he could remember even before they became mates. That change in their relationship just changed the kind of fun things that they liked to do together. Right now he was working in his lab and had made it clear that he didn’t want to be disturbed.

Next Leo and Mikey seemed to want little to nothing to do with Raph right now. They were both sporting a few new scratches today and they both fully blamed Raph for this development. In a way it was his fault. He was the one that had thrown Klunk on top of them last night when they were in the middle of making love.

Raph had even tried calling Casey to see if he wanted to go out and bust a few heads tonight. The problem that Raph was running into with that plan was that Casey wasn’t answering his cell phone. He had even tried calling April because the bonehead was known to let his phone die every now and again but she wasn’t picking up either.

He was just about to head topside on his own to see if he could track down Casey when Don emerged from his lab. When Raph spotted him with empty hands he couldn’t keep himself in check anymore. Rushing over he picked Don up in his arms and carried him back into the lab since it was the closest room.

With his mouth attached to his mate’s Raph didn’t care very much what direction he moved in and set Don down on the nearest available surface. Unfortunately when he did that he pushed Don back too far and knocked his computer right off of his desk.

Raph saw the heartbreak that flashed across Don’s face as he looked down at the broken machinery. “Oops,” he tried offering in condolence.

“Oops,” Don said back in shock. “You have no idea what that computer meant to me do you?”

Raph shook his head all the while feeling like he was giving the wrong answer.

“That was my first ever computer,” Don explained heartbroken over his loss. “It was the first one that I ever pieced back together from the parts that I found in the junkyard.”

“Oh Don. I’m so sorry,” Raph said when he heard the explanation. He pulled away from his mate and sifted through the pieces that were scattered on the floor. “Is there any way that we can fix it?”

Don was quiet for a minute as he picked through what remained or the computer. “Maybe,” he said hesitantly. “It was really beat up when I first put it together and it lasted through the mouser attack when we lost our first home so it’s obviously tough. I think we might be able to revive it.”

“I promise Don,” Raph told him. “I’ll help you fix it.”

“Oh I know you will,” Don said with a smirk.


	320. Shocking News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 15th - Elope

It was early evening and Don was getting a prickling feeling with his intuition. He remembered Raph saying something yesterday about not being able to get in touch with either Casey or April when he called them and something about that seemed off to Don.

He had tried calling April earlier today to ask about a new invention that he was thinking of and he wanted his friend’s expert opinion on it. The strange thing was that she didn’t answer either her cell phone or her apartment phone.

Raph had even taken a quick drive by the apartment that April and Casey now shared to check everything out and make sure that everything was alright and he reported back that everything seemed fine with the exception that their friends weren’t there.

It was very unlike their friends to remain out of touch for so long. It wasn’t so much that they felt the need to make their every move known but with the life that the turtles led, getting a call saying that someone was hurt was a real possibility and neither April nor Casey liked to be out of contact because of this.

The last time Don had called April, he had left a message on her voicemail saying that they were starting to get worried and asking her to call him back as soon as she got his message. That had been almost two hours ago and Don had a growing feeling in the pit of his stomach that something wasn’t right.

Don was just about to head to his computer and either start tracking his friends through their phones or through their paper trail from wherever it is that they went. Don wasn’t completely comfortable with the invasion of his friends’ privacy but he had to know that they were okay and that one of the turtles’ enemies hadn’t done something to them.

Before Don got a chance to begin with his plan however, his phone began ringing and the caller ID showed that it was April on the other end.

“April!” Don nearly shouted into the phone. “How are you? Are you and Casey okay? We haven’t been able to get in touch with either of you for a while now.”

“ _We’re fine Donnie_ ,” April’s voice answered. “ _Is everyone else there? We have something that we want to tell you guys_.”

Don looked up to see that his family had started to gather when he shouted April’s name and he waved them closer so they could hear the conversation. Taking the phone away from his ear, Don held it out and turned on the speaker so they could all hear at the same time.

“Okay April. Go ahead. We’re all here,” Don instructed.

“ _Casey and I haven’t been around for the past couple of days because we went and got married_ ,” April explained.

“What!” four voices echoed out.

“Congratulations Miss O’Neil or should I say Mrs. Jones,” Master Splinter offered with his wide smile evident even through the phone.

“I don’t understand,” Mikey pouted. “How come you guys just up and went and got married without telling us?”

April’s giggle was clear through the phone. “ _We sort of just decided on the spur of the moment to elope_ ,” she said. “ _We’ve been dating for almost two years now and the time just seemed right and we didn’t want to wait anymore. That’s why we hadn’t answered our phones. We’ll be back in a couple of days so we can talk more then_.”

“Alright April,” Don told her. “Tell Casey we say congratulations to him too.”

“ _I will. Bye guys._ ”

Don ended the call and returned his phone to his belt and looked up to see the shocked faces of his family. While none of them had expected this news from April or Casey they were none the less happy for their friends and couldn’t wait to share in their joy when they got back.


	321. Pouting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 16th - Telephone

Michelangelo was pouting. Don wasn’t quite sure why his little brother had decided to take on this pass time and he only seemed to be pout whenever Don was around. This confused Don to no end mostly because he couldn’t think of a single thing that he had done that would warrant such a reaction.

The thing that made Mikey’s actions even stranger to Don was that he was only acting this way around Don. Mikey wasn’t pouting when he was around Master Splinter, Leo, or Raph. It was only Don that Mikey was saving particular behavior for and he couldn’t figure out why.

It finally got to the point where Don couldn’t stand it anymore. He had spent the whole day with Mikey walking out of any room that he walked into. The only time that they spent more than a minute together in the same room without it just being them passing as Mikey left was when they were eating meals. And even then Mikey made a point to talk to everyone except Don.

Losing what was left of his patience that had slowly been wearing away as the day progressed Don finally snapped. Just as Mikey was trying to walk away from him again Don pounced. Before Mikey had a chance to get away Don had grabbed him, dragged him into his lab, and had the door locked behind them so Mikey would have a have time getting out before Mikey even knew what was happening.

“Out with it Mikey,” Don started off. “What have I done that’s upset you? It has to be something because you’ve been pouting all day and haven’t spoken a word to me. So tell me what’s wrong so I can try and fix it.”

At first Mikey said nothing. He tried staring off to the side so that he wouldn’t have to look at Don but after a few minutes it became clear to him that Don had more patience than he did and Mikey was the first to break the silence.

“You knew that April and Casey were getting married,” Mikey said with his lip stuck out in a pout. “You knew and you didn’t tell any of us. I could have made them a cake or helped April get ready or something but you knew and didn’t tell us.”

Don raised his eyebrows in confusion. He had no idea where Mikey had gotten that idea and he intended on finding out and setting things straight right now.

“Why do you think that Mikey?” Don asked. “I didn’t find out that they got married until April called us and you were standing right there.”

“Leo told me,” Mikey said adamantly. “Leo heard you telling Raph that you knew that April and Casey were going to elope and you didn’t say anything to us.”

Don was visibly confused at first but than his face cleared up as a realization sparked in his eyes and he started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Mikey asked indignantly. He didn’t like it when his brothers laughed at him when he was being serious.

“It’s just that this is like a game of telephone,” Don explained with a smile. “You know where one person gives a message to a person and they pass it on to another and by the time it gets t the last person the message has changed? Leo must have overheard me telling Raph that I wished that April and Casey had told us before they eloped because we would have liked to have been there for them. That’s all.”

Mikey had the good graces to look a little embarrassed at Don’s explanation. It wasn’t that he never jumped to conclusions like this before but he usually gave his brothers the benefit if the doubt before he jumped to those conclusions.

“Sorry about all of this Donnie,” Mikey apologized.

“It’s no problem,” Don assured him as he gave him younger brother a hug. “Next time just come and ask me instead of trying to find out information in a game of telephone.”


	322. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 17th - Real

_Raph stretched to his full height as he felt the sun beating down on his skin. There was a slight chill in the air from the changing season of fall but it wasn’t anything that Raph couldn’t handle. In fact the weather today was actually pretty mild for mid November._

_Glancing down the street he could see the people rushing back and forth to the different stores to buy whatever it was that they needed before hurrying home to their families. This reminded Raph of why he was out in the first place.  
With Thanksgiving less than a week away Mikey was already starting to prepare for the meal and had realized that they were missing a few key ingredients that he would need and had sent Raph out to pick them up._

_Upon entering the grocery store Raph stopped to pick up a shopping basket and made eye contact with one of the cashiers. She was a girl from just a few blocks over that always made a point of smiling at Raph whenever he came into the store. She had a very nice smile but not nearly as nice as Don’s and Raph had never done anything more than be friendly with no hints that he was looking for more._

_He wasn’t sure what it was that had changed people’s minds about them. Maybe they had just saved enough people from getting hurt or killed that it finally clicked with the humans that he and his family weren’t dangerous and weren’t all that different. Whatever it was, it was just nice to be able to walk around without fear or having to hide._

_“Raph.”_

_Raph turned his head searching for the source of the voice that was calling his name but saw nothing._

_“Raphie.”_

_There it was again. It sounded so much like Donnie but Raph didn’t see him anywhere in the store._

_“Raph. Come on Raph. Wake up.”_

Blearily Raph blinked his eyes open to see Don staring down at him with a hand on his should gently shaking him in order to rouse him from his slumber.

“The movie’s over Raph,” Don said quietly to him. “You slept through most of it. I wanted to wake you up so that we could go upstairs. Our bed will be a lot more comfortable to sleep on than the couch.”

“Okay,” Raph murmured still not fully awake but understanding what Don was saying to him.

The dream that he had been having was a really good one. Raph couldn’t count the number of times growing up that he had wished that he and his brothers and father could walk around topside without anyone screaming or running away from them.

Raph knew that he dream wasn’t real though. As much as he might wish that things were different and that they didn’t have to hide from the world, Raph knew that it would probably never happen. As Don slid into the bed beside him and snuggled up with his head under Raph’s chin, Raph let out a contented sigh and hugged Don tight.

As good as his dream was he wasn’t about to trade the life he had for it. This was real and Donnie in his arms was real and as far as Raph was concerned, that was all he needed.


	323. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 18th - Fake

Entering into relationships with each other had been one of the best things that the turtles had ever done. They were each much happier now that they had their mates. They had found the other half of themselves that filling in the pieces that they had been missing. Having their mates to lean on had helped to temper each turtle’s personality.

Don was more outgoing and didn’t spend all of his time cooped up in his lab anymore. Raph had calmed ever since he started dating Donnie and was more willing to talk through a problem instead using his fists. Leo was more willing to relax and Mikey’s focus had improved with Leo’s help.

These changes didn’t mean that they had lost their own personalities however. Just because Mikey was in a relationship with Leo didn’t mean that he was going to be serious all of the time. He still like playing pranks on his brothers and Raph would always be his favorite target.

While there was no need to be up early in the morning the brothers still liked eating breakfast together on Sundays. None of them had felt like making anything big to eat and were just settling for whatever they could find in the cupboards or throw together quickly on the stove without too much effort.

Mikey had been kind enough to grab the Raisin Bran cereal for Raph while he was getting his own Captain Crunch down off of the shelf. Raph grunted a thank you to his brother as he poured the food into his bowl and added milk. Until he got his coffee he wouldn’t consider himself awake enough to carry on a conversation.

The squishy feeling in his mouth as he chewed however couldn’t be ignored. Picking up a napkin Raph spit out the mouthful of food and looked down to see what could only be crushed up spider legs amongst the flakes of cereal that had just come out of his mouth. With a shout of disgust Raph fell out of his chair and flung the offending napkin away from himself.

“Hahahahaha,” Mikey burst out laughing at Raph’s reaction. “It’s just a little fake spider. You can’t tell me that you’re afraid of something that’s so fake now can you Raphie?”

Without warning, Raph pushed himself away from the counter and gave chase after his little brother. Don calmly seated himself at the table next to his oldest brother and took a sip of his coffee and ignored the commotion. Just because it was his mate that Mikey had bothered didn’t mean that he was going to get in the middle of it and Leo was taking on the policy that Mikey deserved whatever was coming to him.

Mikey had always found joy in pranking Raph and Raph had always found satisfaction in chasing Mikey down and putting him in a headlock until he promised never to do it again. They both knew that it wouldn’t be the last time but it was their thing and neither Leo nor Don was going to interfere unless it looked like one of them might get hurt.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” could be heard echoing out in the living.

Raph had evidently caught up with Mikey and was explaining to him in great detail what would ever happen if Raph found fake spiders in his cereal ever again. Ignoring the incident Don and Leo just kept on eating. All of them may have changed upon entering relationships with their brothers but some things had remained the same and wouldn’t be changing any time soon.


	324. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 19th - Weird

Don was beginning to feel a little nervous. Raph was acting weird and Don had absolutely no clue as to why that was. He had been trying all day to figure out what was wrong with his mate but he was no closer to figuring it out now than when he had started this morning.

It had all started this morning when they had first gotten up. Normally when their alarm went off Raph was more than happy to just lay around in bed for a few more minutes for as long as they possibly could manage without being late to practice. Today however he had gotten up as soon as the alarm went off, barely taking the time to give Don a quick peck on the lips before leaving the room and heading to the kitchen.

This by itself wouldn’t have been enough to raise Don’s suspicions. For all he knew Raph could have just gotten a really good night’s sleep and woken up with a lot of energy that he needed to burn through. It was Raph’s continued behavior throughout the day that sent up a few red flags to Don.

Don’s offer of a shared shower to wash away the sweat from practice was smoothly turned aside and denied. It wasn’t that Don was incapable of taking a shower on his own but it was very weird for Raph to turn down such a blatant offer without a real explanation.

This pattern of behavior continued on throughout the day. Every time Don would approach his mate and try to hang out with him, Raph always found a way to turn him away and find something else to do. He never made it seem like an insult but his weird behavior was starting to wear on Don’s last nerve. He wanted to spend time with his mate damn it and that was exactly what he was going to do.

This time Don didn’t wait for Raph to try and give an answer that would blow him off. Instead Don took matters into his own hands. When Raph was passing his lab on the way to the dojo to work with his weights, Don attacked a few key pressure points.

Raph was stunned and pulled into the lab before he even knew what hit him. Raph was just starting to regain feeling back in his body when it all disappeared into the delightful pleasure that Don was eliciting in him with his passionate kiss.

“What’s the matter Donnie-boy?” Raph asked as soon as Don had released his mouth so that they both could breath. “Couldn’t just ask me for a kiss? You had to attack me and drag me away first?”

“With whatever game you’ve been playing today I was thinking that it was the only way to get you to stick around long enough,” Don growled before capturing Raph’s mouth again.

Raph moaned into the kiss and just let Don take control. He had actually had a plan for his weird behavior. He figured that if he could deny Don all day and get them both all worked up than the sex tonight would be mind blowing. Don had just beaten him to the punch and Raph wasn’t about to stop him now.


	325. Just Another Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 20th - Normal

Being a mutant turtle wasn’t always easy. For starters they had to live in the sewers because the world above them would never accept them as they are without fear or judgment. Because of this upbringing they knew that even if they did somehow manage to be able to live above ground with the humans they still wouldn’t fit in and not only because of their looks.

They would never completely fit in merely due in part to how they were raised. The values that they had as a family were not what were typically normal for most humans. There was the fact that even as teenagers they knew how to fight and kill to protect themselves.

Another less drastic thing that was normal for them was how they took care of their possessions. They treated everything with such care because they knew replacing anything that broke wouldn’t be easy. Even Mikey who habitually made a habit of breaking his games was still more careful with them than the average human because he knew that if Don couldn’t fix them that he wouldn’t have anything to play anymore.

All of this didn’t mean that they couldn’t live a perfectly normal life of their own. They were a family like any other. There would be days that they fought and didn’t get along with one another and there would be other days when they all got along.

Today was one of the latter. All five of them were just relaxing together as a family in the living room. Master Splinter was sitting in his chair watching one of his soap operas that was on TV. Mikey and Leo were each seated on the floor on opposite ends of the coffee table playing a game of Monopoly.

Raph had taken to sitting on one end of the couch and leaning on the arm rest. This gave him the perfect position to watch all of the action going on, on the board and being able to give a running commentary as his brothers played their game.

Don had a new book that he had wanted to read for a while but hadn’t been able to find the time. Instead of taking a seat at the other end of the couch he had decided to use his mate as a resting place. With his head pillowed on Raph’s lap, Don was laying on his carapace just relaxing on the couch.

These kinds of days were everyone’s favorite. There wasn’t much to do and everyone got to relax. It probably wouldn’t end up being a day that they would look back on and remember fondly but most normal days were like that.

Normal days like today weren’t filled with grand plans. They weren’t fighting bad guys and saving the world. Days like today were just normal and uneventful days that they got to spend with their family doing nothing of any importance but still enjoying themselves. These were the days that they treasured the most.


	326. Slutty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 21st - Virgin

With a family of five living together in the same house, privacy wasn’t something that existed in large quantities. Locked doors didn’t even insure privacy. In a houseful for ninjas, a locked door was just a five second delay between where someone was and where they wanted to be.

Even if locked doors did make a difference, everyone knew what a couple was doing when they retreated to their bedroom and locked the door behind them. None of them were in virgin territory here after all. It wasn’t a mood killer exactly but it certainly didn’t enhance the mood either.

Right now though Raph and Don had the whole lair to themselves. Master Splinter had gone to visit April and Casey at their apartment and Leo had taken Mikey for a training run. Don was pretty sure that the training part of the run would only last for a little while before Mikey convinced Leo to turn it into another activity entirely while they had their own privacy away from their family.

This left Don and Raph completely alone to do as they pleased and Raph had a plan for the night. While he and Casey had shared a beer or two when they would hang out and watch sports games Don had never really partaken in that tradition.

It had taken some convincing but eventually Raph had gotten Don on board with the idea of trying different alcoholic beverages. He had appealed to the scientist in Don to experiment with what flavors and types of alcohol to Don would like and to see just where his limit on how much he could drink was.

The sight that met Leo’s eyes when he walked back into the lair was a testament to how far Don was willing to go in the name of an experiment. Leo stopped dead in his tracks the moment that he stepped into the lair causing Mikey to walk into his back.

Glasses littered the room showing just how many drinks had been consumed. In the middle of the living room stood Raph just watching as his mate twirled around his bo attempting to perform what could only be guessed was Don’s idea of an erotic dance.

“Donnie,” Leo called out trying to get his brother’s attention. “Are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” Don sang out as he kept up his dancing around the room not even caring at his new audience.

Leo couldn’t help but look at all of the glasses that were scattered around the room. “How much did you have to drink?” he asked.

“Not much,” answered Don as he finally lost his balance and fell into Raph’s arms. “Just like seven or something.”

“Were any of them virgin drinks?” Mikey asked as he looked at the state his brother was in.

“Nope,” Don said proudly making a popping sound with the p. “They were slutty just like me.”

Proud of his statement Don raised one leg up to hook it around Raph’s waist and rubbed lewdly against his mate. Raph could see the scandalized look on Leo’s face and decided that it was probably time to call it a night.

“Come on Don,” Raph said as he tried to extract himself from his mate’s hold. “Let’s go upstairs to bed.”

“That’s a good idea,” Don agreed with his eyes shining brightly. “I like our bed. We do so many fun things on there. Oh! We could try more experiments with the bed.”

Raph moaned a bit as he urged Don towards the stairs. He wasn’t sure if getting his mate drunk was the best idea but he wasn’t about to let Don’s slutty behavior go to waste.


	327. Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 22nd - Mud

Don had barely opened his eyes to face to new day when he slammed his eyelids shut again. It felt like his head was about to split open with the drums that were pounding inside and the little bit of light that had entered his eyes when he opened them only made it worse.

When he managed to pry his eyes open again it was to see Raph sitting next to him holding out a glass of water and some Aspirin. Reaching out Don took the pills and swallowed them with the first gulp of water before chugging the rest of the glass.

“Thanks,” Don rasped out as he sat up and tried to get his bearings.

“Not a problem Donnie-boy,” Raph responded as he started rubbing at Don’s temples to try and help relieve the headache that he knew his mate would be feeling. “Besides, it’s kind of my fault that you’re feeling like you’re head is stuck in a puddle of mud.”

“How do you figure that?” Don asked as he leaned into Raph’s touch.

Raph moved his hands down to rub at Don’s neck and release some of the tension that had built up there. “I’m the one that got you drunk last night,” he explained. “If I hadn’t have gotten you drunk you wouldn’t be hung over right now.”

“I’m a big boy Raph,” Don argued as he pulled away so he could get up and put his gear on. “I made my own decisions to have those drinks. You didn’t force them on me so I’ll suffer the consequences. I just hope the headache goes away before we go over to April’s for Thanksgiving.”

Knowing that his mate was right didn’t help Raph when he saw Don flinch at the light as they left their room and headed downstairs for practice. When they walked into the dojo they saw Leo and Mikey already in there warming up with a few easy stretches.

“I’ve made Raph practice before with a hangover and I’m not going to make an exception for you Don,” Leo warned right off the bat. “You were the one that chose to get drunk last night even though you knew we would have practice in the morning and now you have to pay the price.”

“I know Leo,” Don answered contritely. “I don’t expect any special treatment.”

Mikey giggled as he watched Raph and Don start to stretch together which brought their bodies in very close proximity to one another.

“Do you remember anything from last night Don?” Mikey asked.

“Bits and pieces,” Don answered. “Most of it is just really muddy. The biggest thing I remember was just being very happy to have the lair to just me and Raph.”

“I bet you were,” Mikey teased as his wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Don looked to Raph for an explanation but Raph wouldn’t meet his eyes. When he tried looking to Leo Don found that his oldest brother had become very fascinated with checking his katanas for any signs of dirt.

“Will someone explain to me what happened?” Don exclaimed.

Mikey was all too willing to jump in with the story. “Well for starters you looked like you were trying to use your bo to pole dance with and you called yourself a slut,” Mikey said. “I know! I shall call you Slutatello from now on. Casey will love hearing that when we got visit them for Thanksgiving.”

Raph growled in warning at the teasing to his mate and Leo intervened before a fight could break out. “Mikey you won’t do anything of the sort,” Leo ordered. “Don is your brother and he deserves respect and not to be humiliated.”

Don groaned inwardly as Leo continued to lecture Mikey. He knew that in the end Leo would win out but that didn’t mean that Mikey wouldn’t continue to tease him privately. He was starting to wonder if a night that he couldn’t even remember very well was worth the day after.


	328. More Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 23rd - Office

With the start of holiday season officially kicked off with the dawn of Black Friday, Don knew that his and Raph’s online business would be very busy for the next month. This meant that they would need to keep a constant stream of objects repaired and posted on their site to give their clients the best selection to choose from.

They had some things stockpiled already but they both knew that realistically they would be selling most if not all of it within the next month as well as anything else that they could get fixed up. This would lead to a lot of trips to the junkyard and a lot of scavenging to find parts as well as things that they believed could be restored to good working order. Leo had already promised that he and Mikey would pitch in and help with that part of it.

Ever since they had taken that first order request near the beginning they had received multiple orders to fix something that a client already owned or to see if they could find a specific item that they didn’t have listed on their website. Sometimes they did have to turn someone down. There was only so much they could find at the junkyard, but for the most part they were able to fill most every request.

While all of this was very good for their business and was generating revenue for their family which made life quite a bit easier, it wasn’t all roses. There were some downsides to their success. The lack of space was really starting to get to both Don and Raph.

Don’s lab had been the original site where they kept all of the items that they repaired until they could ship them off to whatever client had bought them. When that had become too crowded they had moved some things into their room and now that was becoming a hassle where they were always tripping over or stubbing their toes on something.

It had actually been when they were over at April and Casey’s yesterday for Thanksgiving that April offered a suggestion that they couldn’t figure out why they hadn’t already thought of it. She had suggested that since Raph and Don shared a room now which left Raph’s old room open, which they had really only been using for storage, why they just didn’t convert that into a temporary office to use for the holiday season.

Raph had left some of his weights and other large items in his old bedroom and right now they were being moved over to the side to provide space for the new office. It could barely be considered an office though.

It would have a table on which to keep projects that were in progress and shelves to house finished work. This is also where Don planned on keeping the laptop that he and Raph used for maintaining their site. This way everything they would need would be in one spot and easily accessible to both of them. With their new office being set up they were ready to face the holiday shopping season.


	329. Team Effort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 24th - Presentation

The doors to the main entrance to the lair opened and all four brothers walked in from the sewers. Each of them was carrying a backpack laden heavily with supplies that they had scavenged from a night of junkyard hopping.

Don and Raph had known that with the start of the holiday shopping season beginning yesterday that they would be inundated with more orders than they were normally used to. What they hadn’t anticipated was just how many orders they would get.

They hadn’t had their website up for a year yet but their previous clients had obviously spread the word and their site was getting more hits than they ever had before. Items that they already had listed were selling fast and they were getting new orders in to repair things a customer already owned or to find out if they could possibly procure a certain item.

This had left the two of them scrambling and taking Leo up on his offer for him and Mikey to find stuff at the local junkyards and bring it back for him and Raph to work on. This is what led to all of them carrying very full backpacks back to the lair. They had only returned now because they couldn’t carry anymore with them. In the future Don was planning on using the Battleshell so they could carry more things.

Following behind their brothers, Leo and Mikey brought the things that they had up to the new office that Don and Raph had set up yesterday for their operation. They set their packs down on the floor next to the wall since the tables already had items on them that were being prepared to go up on the web.

While they weren’t the ones that ran the site or did more than help scavenge through the junkyards, Leo and Mikey were none the less fascinated with the work that their brothers did. Because of that fascination they both took up places against the wall where they would be out of the way so they could watch their brothers work.

Now that they were back Raph headed over to the shelf and took down the camera that he used to take pictures of the items. Turning it on he snapped a few quick pictures of some things that were fixed and ready to be put onto the site before handing the camera over to Don.

Don quickly uploaded the pictures onto the laptop and set about getting ready to put the pictures and their descriptions onto the site. He paused however when he heard a snort coming from Mikey standing behind him.

“Yes?” Don asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you really going to put those pictures onto the site?” Mikey questioned. “They don’t look all that good and don’t make a good presentation for your site.”

“I don’t think the presentation’s been holding us back so far,” Raph challenged.

Raph’s words didn’t seem to sink in with Mikey who was already skipping across the room, grabbing the camera from Don and starting to set the items up the way he wanted them. With an apologetic look to Don, Leo followed Mikey and started moving a lamp closer to give better light to the table.

After a few quick snaps Mikey was handing the camera back to Don who uploaded the new pictures. Looking at them Don could see that Mikey and Leo had done a great job and the pictures that they had taken made a much better presentation than anything they had put onto their site so far.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Don admitted. “Do you guys want to take the pictures of the finished products from now on?”

“Sure!” Mikey exclaimed answering for both him and Leo. “This site can be a real team effort.”

When Raph and Don had first started their business they had only imagined it being the two of them. Now that Mikey and Leo had added in their input they could see that making this a team effort would make their business even better than it had been before.


	330. Hanging Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 25th - Head Rush

The night was clear and cool without being too cold. Some sweat pants and a sweat shirt were all that was needed to ward off the sight breeze in the air and keep two turtles nice and warm. The body heat that they were creating between the two of them wasn’t hurting anything too much either.

What had started out as a nice evening patrol of the city to find criminal and stop them before they hurt anyone quickly turned into something else entirely. After stopping one mugging Raph and Don had begun heading back up to the rooftops in order to continue on with their patrol.

The adrenaline though had gotten to Raph and now he was experiencing a head rush from the hormones. Before they could finish scaling the fire escape he had Don pinned against one of the railings and was plundering Don’s mouth as though his life depended on it.

Don had put and initial protest to the suddenness of Raph’s on slot but quickly melted under his lover’s passion. There was no one around and they were hidden in the shadows so no one could see them even if there was someone there. Plus Don just couldn’t ignore the feelings that Raph was eliciting from his powerful caresses of Don’s body.

It wasn’t long before churrs started to fill the air signaling their increased arousals. Breaths were coming in heavy pants now making kissing more difficult if they both wished to continue breathing. Instead Raph had moved his mouth down to Don’s neck and was intent on covering every inch of it with kisses, licks, and nips in order to receive every possible sound from Don that he could.

Don was beginning to feel heat pooling in his groin and his cock starting to harden as Raph kept up the attention that he was paying to all of the sensitive areas of his body. He was just about to drop when the world suddenly turned upside down.

Raph has pushed Don a little too hard against the railing and the old iron just couldn’t take it anymore. The railing snapped under the pressure and Don went tumbling over the side. Luckily instead of heading straight down to the pavement below, Don’s foot got caught on a laundry line and left him suspended upside down above the earth.

Raph had enough room that he was able to catch his balance and remain on the fire escape and could only watch as his mate fell. His heart caught in his chest when he saw Don get stuck on a clothes line and rushed down the two flights of stairs to where Don was hanging.

“Donnie are you alright?” Raph called out worried over the safety of his mate.

“I think so,” Don answered hesitantly as he tried to reach up and free himself. “I’m kind of stuck though. I need you to help me get untangled.”

“Sure thing Don,” Raph responded as he pulled out one of his sais.

Quickly Raph moved down a few more flights of stairs so that when he threw his weapon and cut the rope he would be able to catch Don and stop him from hitting the side of the building. His plan worked like a charm and he was soon helping a woozy Don over the railing and onto more solid ground.

“Are you sure that you’re okay Don?” Raph asked as he reached out to steady Don who was swaying slightly.

“Yeah, I just have a head rush from hanging upside down like that,” explained Don. “The blood rushed to my head so suddenly and now it’s rushing back down. I’m fine though.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Raph agreed. “Let’s head home now so we can finish what we started without worrying about falling.”


	331. Karma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 26th - Brain Freeze

Out of necessity each of the brothers knew how to work in the kitchen to make food. Mikey may have been the best at it but it wasn’t fair to ask him to do all of the cooking by himself even if he enjoyed it most of the time.

There was also the occasional bought of illness that kept Mikey out of the kitchen. If the rest of them didn’t want to starve when this happened they needed to know how to cook a halfway decent meal that wouldn’t poison all of them.

This would be why Raph and Don were the ones in the kitchen right now messing around with measuring cups, bowls, and a baking sheet. Don’s experience with mixing different chemicals in his lab gave him a helping hand when it came to baking. Measuring ingredients such as flour and baking soda for the exact amount wasn’t much different from getting the exact measurement with nitric acid.

Right now Raph had a craving for ice cream over a nice hot brownie for dessert and had roped Don into helping him make his dessert dreams come true. Leo and Mikey had already made a delicious turkey noodle soup with leftovers that they still had from Thanksgiving so Raph and Don felt it was their turn to bring something to the table.

When the timer on the oven went off Don pulled the fresh brownies out while Raph grabbed the ice cream from the freezer. Soon four bowls were filled with the delicious treat and the scent that was wafting into the rest of the lair soon had Mikey and Leo wandering into the kitchen to partake in the wonderful dessert that their brothers had made.

The moment the bowl was set in front of Mikey he began digging in with as much gusto as he could manage. In about thirty seconds his ice cream was already half gone. It was only a few seconds after that when Mikey dropped his spoon in favor of grasping his head with both hands.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” moaned Mikey as he rubbed at his head. “Major brain freeze dude.”

Leo just chuckled lightly at his mate’s predicament as he continued to eat his ice cream at a more relaxed pace.

“Explain to me how exactly you can get a brain freeze Mikey when you don’t even have a brain to begin with?” Raph teased as he kept digging into his own dessert.

“Totally not cool dude,” Mikey complained. “Just because you don’t have enough of a brain to figure out how it works doesn’t mean that I don’t.”

As Raph gulped down the last bites of his own ice cream he started to feel a pressure building up in his head. He tried to hide the grimace on his face but he wasn’t fast enough and Mikey caught sight of it.

“HA!” he exclaimed. “You’ve got a brain freeze now too. Serves you right for making fun of me. That’s karma for you.”

Raph just grumbled a bit as he rubbed at his temples to make the feeling of the brain freeze go away. He knew that Mikey had a point and that no one would back him up if he tried to push the issue. He figured it was just better to cut his losses and suffer in silence until he could find a better time to one up his baby brother.


	332. Kool Aid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 27th - Sugar

Don had honestly intended to get some work done when he went into his lab this afternoon. He was taking a much needed break from fixing up items for his business to just work on some personal projects that he had going on.

Those plans went up in smoke the moment he decided to leave the door to his lab open so that he wouldn’t be completely cut off from the rest of his family. From his seat at his desk in his lab, Don had the perfect view straight into the dojo to the weight bench that his mate liked to work on.

Inside the dojo Raph was working at the bench press. He was laid back on his carapace with his legs spread out in order to keep himself balanced. Don’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the juncture between his mate’s legs and what he knew was hiding there.

The real distraction for Don however was the sweat that was rolling off of Raph’s skin. He had back working out for a while now and he begun to perspire. As the beads of sweat rolled down Raph’s skin Don’s eyes followed right along with them over every crease and crevice that he knew oh so intimately.

When Raph was finally done with his weights he left the dojo and headed for the kitchen with the intent on getting something to drink. As if in a trance Don stood up and followed along behind him, determined not to lose sight of his deliciously sweaty mate.

When Raph opened the fridge he just grabbed the first thing that his hand came in contact with and pulled it out. The drink was the purple Kool Aid the Mikey had made earlier when he was craving a sugar rush.

A sugar rush wasn’t what Raph was looking for but at this point he was so thirsty he didn’t care too much what he was drinking as long as he wouldn’t get sick from it. The only reason that Raph even bothered pouring it into a glass and not just drinking straight out of the pitcher was because Don was in the kitchen with him.

As Raph chugged down his drink, Don was distracted for the first time since he spotted the sweat covering his mate’s body. Little droplets of Kool Aid were slipping over the edge of the glass and the sugary liquid was leaving nice purple trails down Raph’s neck.

No longer able to contain himself Don nearly ran across the room and tossed the glass into the sink to get it out of the way. Now that there were no more obstacles in his path Don shoved Raph up against the counter and proceeded to ravish his mouth.

There was a distinct taste of sugar in Raph’s mouth from the Kool Aid that he had just had but underneath that cloying sweetness was a taste that unique to Raph that Don could never seem to get enough of. If they weren’t exposed out in the kitchen right now Don was sure that he would be doing a lot more to Raph than just kissing him and by the light churrs coming from Raph, he didn’t think that his lover would have too many objections to it.


	333. Variety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 28th - Spice

Don stood up from his desk chair and stretched as high as he could. He had spent almost all of the day after practice had ended in what had once been Raph’s room working on repairing items so that Mikey and Leo could frame and take pictures of them later.

Raph had been in and out all day. He had focused mostly on filling order that had been placed on their site. This meant putting things in boxes to ship and printing off shipping labels. In between putting orders together he had also taken the time to go and grab lunch for him and Don since he knew that his mate would forget to eat if someone didn’t put food directly in front of him.

Right now Raph had taken the Battleshell to head over to April’s. They had a bunch of packages ready to ship but since they couldn’t take them to the post office themselves they had to rely on their friend’s help which she was more than happy to give.

Mikey had also caught a ride with Raph. It was closing in on dinner time and Mikey had a craving for spicy Thai food. He had volunteered to go and pick up the order and had hitched a ride in the Battleshell to make it easier and faster to carry everything home.

When Mikey had suggested Thai food Leo and Raph had instantly been on board at the prospect of the richly flavored food. Master Splinter had been agreeable and Don had been so distracted by his work that he had barely noticed his two brothers leaving the lair to head topside.

By the time that Raph and Mikey got back after dropping the packages off with April and picking up their dinner it was starting to get late and everyone was hungry. While Mikey put the food out on the kitchen table so that everyone could start digging in Raph headed upstairs to pull Don away from his work so that he could eat.

Don had always been on the slim side and that was mostly due to the number of meals that he missed simply by working through them. Ever since he and Raph had gotten together, Raph had made it his personal mission to see that Don stopped doing that and started eating with the family unless it was an emergency. This meant that being on time for meals was still a somewhat new thing for him.

With only a little cajoling Raph was able to convince Don to leave his work without having to bodily drag him out of the room. Once he smelled the food though Don quickly started filling his plate. Everything that he was taking was the least spicy options that were available.

“Come on Don. Try something new,” coaxed Mikey when he saw the food that he was taking. “Variety is the spice of life after all.”

“That may be true Mikey but I think I’ll stick with the food that I know is tried and true,” Don replied as he began to eat what he had already taken.

Mikey just shrugged at the lost cause. “More for me then.”

Don smiled at the easy going nature of his brother. Not much could ruffle his feathers. As he looked around the table at his family Don was extremely grateful that Raph had pulled him away from his work. Nothing was worth missing this time with his family. He had worked through enough meals. Now it was time to focus on what was really important.


	334. Cookie's Favorite Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 29th - Milk

Dinner had finished and the dishes were stacked up in the sink to be washed later. No one really wanted to take on that task quite yet so they were all still sitting around the small kitchen table just talking and enjoying each other’s company.

The fact that Mikey had been baking earlier in the day just for the fun of it did exactly hurt. It meant that there were fresh chocolate chip cookies sitting on a plate on the counter just waiting to be devoured. The smell had been wafting over the table throughout the entire meal and even though everyone had eaten their fill of dinner there was always room for cookies.

Once everyone’s stomachs had settled enough from the large meal that they had just eaten Raph went over and grabbed the plate of cookies and brought them back to the table. He offered them first to Master Splinter before passing them around the table for everyone to enjoy.

As the plate made its way past everyone, silence descended on the kitchen. They were all too swept away with the party going on with their taste buds to waste time talking about anything at the moment. It was only after they were swallowing the last bites of their first cookies and thinking about taking another that conversation resumed one more.

“These are delicious Mikey,” Leo complimented his smaller mate.

Don had polished off his first cookie and was reaching for a second as he licked off his fingers. “I do agree that they are goo but they’re missing something,” commented Don.

Mikey’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he heard that. “What could they possibly be missing?” he nearly shrieked.

“A large glass of milk to wash them down with,” Don teased.

“Oh, okay. That reminds me though,” Mikey thought out loud getting over his indignation very quickly. “I’ll need to make sure that we have plenty of milk on hand at Christmas to put out for Santa.”

“Really Mikey? You’re going to put out milk for Santa?” Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course my son,” Master Splinter chimed in. “Santa will need his milk and cookies if he is to bring everyone their Christmas gifts.”

The boys laughed at their father’s shameless attempt at getting sweets whenever he possibly could. Leo stood up from the table and took the gallon of milk out of the refrigerator and brought it and five glasses back to the table for everyone while they enjoyed their dessert.

Leaving out milk and cookies for Santa had always been a tradition in their home. Even after they had learned that Santa wasn’t real and that it was Master Splinter that was putting their gifts under the Christmas tree they had still kept with the tradition.

The way that the four of them figured it, their father had always gone through so much trouble to make the holiday special for them that the least that they could do was to leave him some cookies and milk to snack on while he did his work.


	335. Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> November 30th - Soda

Don loved his little brother. He truly did. Mikey was Don’s only younger brother and as such Don was very protective of him. There were some times however that it seemed like Mikey was trying to drive him insane and he was very good at it. It was times like this that Don just wanted to beat Mikey with his bo until he promised to never be annoying again.

Mikey’s crime today was messing with the repaired items that were up in the office for the business. He had good intentions to start with. Mikey had originally gone in there to take pictures of the finished products but ended up messing up the whole system of how everything was shelved and ordered.

In order to find enough space to set up the lights and have the space to take good pictures of the products Mikey had moved in-progress work around on the tables and left a few shelves completely bare. This was how Don found him when he walked into the room to grab a screw driver that he had forgotten in there.

After chasing his little brother out of the room and vowing painful revenge if Mikey ever so much as breathed on the products wrong Don settle down to putting everything back in order where it belonged in the first place.

It only took Don around forty-five minutes to finish cleaning the mess that it took Mikey five minutes to make but he was still tired afterwards. Now that he had completed straightening up the room he realized just how thirsty he was and headed down to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

As he passed through the living room he saw the rest of his brothers sitting around the TV about ready to watch a movie where he saw that Mikey had taken refuge with Leo. When they all asked him to join them Don couldn’t refuse but said he was going to grab a drink first.

Moving over to the fridge Don quickly grabbed himself a soda and popped the top off of it. He was just about to close the door when he spotted another can just sitting on the shelf. As Don picked up the second can the perfect idea for revenge on his younger brother came to mind.

Smirking to himself, Don shook the can of soda as hard as he could in order to build up as much fizz to squirt out as soon as Mikey opened the can. He knew that it wouldn’t be the most elaborate pay back ever done but it would satisfy him.

As Don walked into the living room to join his brothers he casually set the can of soda just within Mikey’s reach so as not to be too obvious about what he was up to. Once that was in place Don quickly went and joined Raph on his end of the couch and settled down to watch his revenge take place.

As Don started sipping at his own drink he watched carefully as Mikey picked up the soda that had been left for him and went to open it. Don’s look of glee quickly turned to an expression of horror when Leo coughed a bit and asked Mikey if he could have a drink of his soda to clear his throat.

Before Don had a chance to do anything, Mikey had handed over the can and Leo opened it spraying soda all over his face and plastron. Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment before all heads turned to face Don.

They knew that none of the cans had been shaken when they went into the refrigerator and the only way for something like this to have happened was through deliberate sabotage. Don only needed to see a glance of Leo’s face before he was up and running for his life. Doing something like that to Mikey wouldn’t have been a big deal. Leo was another matter entirely and Don would be lucky to escape with all of his body pieces intact.


	336. Retribution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 1st - Noise

Raph was working away diligently in the office repairing a musical jewelry box. When they had found it one of the hinges was broken and it refused to make noise no matter much it was wound up. Don had been working with him earlier but had left almost twenty minutes ago and still hadn’t returned.

Feeling tired Raph decided that it was time to turn in for the night and left to go and find out where Donnie was before heading off to bed. Raph found Don downstairs sipping on a glass of water in the kitchen.

“I was thinking of heading to bed Donnie. You wanna join me?” Raph asked.

“Sure,” Don responded as he set the empty glass in the sink.

As they walked up the stairs they could hear a strange noise coming from the second floor. When they got to the top of the stairs the noise became clearer. The muffled sound of churrs and squeaks from a bed could be heard coming out of Leo and Mikey’s room.

“They sure sound like they’re having a good time,” Raph said as they passed Leo and Mikey room as they headed towards their own.

“You could say that,” Dom commented casually. He knew at the very least, Leo was enjoying himself.

_When Don had left Raph alone in the office it hadn’t been to just stretch his legs. He was on a mission to finish getting his revenge on Mikey. When Don had gotten caught by Leo yesterday he had only escaped a severe noogie by quickly explaining to Leo that the soda had not been meant for him and that if he would just let him go now, that he would make it all worth Leo’s while later._

_Lo had taken the gamble and let Don go with just a warning that if he didn’t keep his word, that Leo would come back after Don and a noogie wouldn’t be the only thing that he would receive. Don knew that what Leo said wasn’t an idle threat and he had no intention on bringing the wrath of his big brother down upon him._

_Now Don had set his sights upon his younger brother and wasn’t about to be dissuaded from his intent. Mikey was just leaving the bathroom from taking an evening shower when Don sprung. It was the work of mere moments to hit the correct pressure points and leave Mikey temporarily paralyzed._

_Before anyone saw what he was doing, Don had dragged Mikey to his and Leo’s room and dumped him on the bed. Don knew that he would have to work quickly if he wanted to get his plan set into place before Mikey started regaining feeling in his limbs._

_The first thing was to tie Mikey’s bandana around his mouth to create a makeshift gag to stifle any noise that might try to escape. After that was done, Don stretched Mikey’s limbs out spread eagle on the bed and tied each one to the four corners._

_Once he was sure that his little brother wasn’t going anywhere any time soon Don went and stuffed a few pillows under Mikey’s hips which served to thrust his ass up into the air. Don put the finishing touch onto his revenge and tied a purple ribbon around Mikey’s tail that said, ‘To Leo. Thank you. Don.’_

_Leaving the room Don found Leo and told him that he had left a present for Leo in his room as a thank you for showing mercy yesterday. As Leo went to go and see what the present was, Don went to go get a drink of water in the kitchen which is where Raph found him._

As Don followed Raph into their room he thought about the “punishment” that Mikey was receiving. He was sure that this would in no way convince Mikey to never mess with his stuff ever again but it did mean that Mikey would probably be either too tired or too sore to try messing with Don’s things for at least a week.


	337. Heartbeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 2nd - Silence

Living underground meant that the sounds of the human world weren’t a part of the turtles’ everyday lives. The honking of horns, screaming and yelling of commuters, and even the chirping of birds did not penetrate through the layers of concrete and dirt that separated their home from the world above.

One of the clearest times to listen to the silence was at night after everyone had called it a day and gone to bed. Sometimes Raph would stay awake after everyone else had fallen asleep just to listen to the silence that had descended upon the lair.

Leo liked to mediate in order to find an inner peace. Mikey played games that he had won a hundred times over because it allowed his mind too wander. Don would give the Battleshell an overhaul without thinking about anything that he was doing. Raph liked to listen to the sounds that a silent lair made.

Even in the middle of the night though, the lair wasn’t completely silent. There was the drip of a leaking faucet. The sounds of rushing water through the pipes and out in the tunnels made its way into the lair at all hours of the day and night.

These were sounds that Raph had grown up with all of his life. They were soothing to him and it would actually be disruptive for him not to hear them. As a ninja he was also trained to use all of his senses as fully as possible and to not be able to hear these sounds would be very disconcerting to him.

As much as the sounds of the lair had been comforting to Raph throughout his entire life they no longer held the number one spot in that regard anymore. They had been replaced by another sound. That sound was the beating of Don’s heart.

Every night Raph got to settle down into bed and pull Don into his arms before he fell asleep. Sometimes he was greeted by the soft snoring of Don on the nights that he was extremely tired. No matter what though it was Don’s heartbeat that he got to hear loud and clear.

That rhythm was one of the first things that Raph had learned once he and Don had become a couple. The sound was very light and fluttery. That had surprised Raph when he first heard it. Raph only had his own heartbeat as a comparison and it was a strong thundering thud.

As much as Raph had been surprised by the lightness of Don’s heart he figured that it fit his mate. Don himself may not have been light; he could be a real powerhouse when he wanted to be. However, his movements were very graceful and he seemed to just float on air whenever he moved around the lair or swung his bo staff around in a fight.

The lightness of Don’s heartbeat was a reflection of the way he lived his life and Raph would do everything within his power to protect it. As long as Raph could hear that one sound, he knew that he would never have to live in silence.


	338. A Night of Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 3rd - Loud

It had been half a year since Don and Raph had gone through the trouble of sound proofing their room. Their initial reason for having done so was because of their brothers’ extracurricular activities and how loud they were when doing so.

This wasn’t to say that Raph and Don were completely silent while they were making love. They may have been raised as ninja and been taught the art of silence but when they were with each other and worshipping their lover’s body, they could both get quite loud.

This was exactly what was happening right now. Panting breaths were being issued as mouths moved against each other in a frenzied passion. It was as though they had been apart for years and were just now reuniting.

Fires burned in the pits of their stomachs as hands travelled over bodies that they knew by heart. No inch was unknown, having given up its secrets long ago. Every touch ignited a burning lust and made the fire burn even higher.

When breathing became more of a necessity their mouths disengaged from one another but moved to different body parts instead. Loud panting filled the air as tongues tried to get a taste of the supple skin of their mate made salty by sweat.

Heat was pooling in both of their groins but they worked to hold back their aching erections. There were times for a quick fuck but this wasn’t one of them. They wanted to take their time and savor the moment to their fullest extent.

Olive green nails scraped across a golden plastron as the nerve endings were excited and brought to life. That flash of pain only served to excite the emerald green turtle and caused him to let out a loud moan of pleasure.

The larger turtle retaliated by taking hold of the smaller tail and caressing the wiggling appendage between his fingers before pinching just the tip of it. Olive green hips bucked off of the bed seeking more touches from the talented hand.

Finally it was too much for both of them and their erections made a bid for freedom from their confining pouches. The moment they were free they hit and rubbed together as though they were seeking each other out just as the rest of the bodies that they were attached to were doing.

The larger mutant reached a hand down between their bodies and took both organs into his fist. Slowly he dragged his hand up and down, teasing both of them as much as he possibly could. Lips returned to find each other as tongues battled for dominance of the other’s mouth.

Hands moved faster and bodies moved closer as they could both feel their arousals reaching their peek. If they could they would make this moment last forever. The feeling of closeness and coming together as one would never be something that they tired of but even the best things in life must come to an end.

With loud yells muffled by each other’s mouths they both climaxed is a flurry of passion. Together they rode the waves of their orgasms to finally touch down again and settle into the afterglow. Snuggling just as close as they had been while making love they allowed their eyelids to fall closed and for sleep to take them off into dreamland, still wrapped in each other’s arms.


	339. Flattery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 4th - Imitation

Don had felt very tired after practice had gotten over that morning. He suspected that it had more than a little to do with the fact that he had been up late last night making love with his mate. In order to catch up on some of that sleep Don had excused himself and gone back to his room to lay down for a little while and take a quick nap.

When Don eventually woke up it was to a rumbling in his stomach telling him that he had only had a small breakfast before practice and that it had been a few hours since he had eaten anything. When he left his room and stood at the top of the stairs he could look down at the rest of the lair.

Down in the living room Don could see that his brothers had apparently decided that the living room was the perfect place to stage a three-way wrestling match. If they weren’t careful the coffee table would be in eminent danger of being destroyed.

Don was thoughtful as he watched his three brothers horsing around and playing together. It reminded him so much of when they were children. Raph and Mikey had always been the most outgoing of the four of them and even Leo had been more relaxed before he became the leader.

The three of them had always found games that they could all play together. More often than not it was Don who had found himself to be the odd man out. It wasn’t that he didn’t like to play games or have fun. It was more that he had a different definition of what would be considered fun and rough housing and getting bruises was not part of that definition.

Unfortunately this meant that he got left out of a lot of the games and this had always disappointed him. He knew that he was different from his brothers but that didn’t mean that he wanted to be left alone.

For a period of time Don had taken to imitating each of his brothers in the hopes that if he acted more like them than he wouldn’t be so different and they would want to play with him more. All it managed to do though was to drive them away from him even more in their annoyance.

Don remembered Master Splinter having needed to have a talk with his brothers about their treatment of him. He had explained to them that imitation was the most sincere form of flattery and they should not see Donatello’s imitation of them as anything but that.

They had eventually come around to the idea that Don wasn’t imitating them to annoy them. Don in turn stopped the imitations because he truly didn’t like bothering his brothers. Time eventually helped them all to grow and bring them closer together, differences and all.

Smiling fondly at the memory Don started down the stairs. It had taken him a while to be comfortable as himself but he had done it. He was proud of the things that made him different and had long since left behind his attempts at imitating his brothers much to their pleasure. Now he was just Donatello and no one could be more thrilled.


	340. Creations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 5th - Original

Don had always been the go to guy when it came to creating things for their home. He could take a glob of gum, some duct tape, a rubber band, and some twine and somehow manage to fashion whatever it was that was needed in the moment. He even carried around a pigeon puppet just in case. He was truly an original thinker and someone that liked to play outside the box.

Originality had always served Don well. One of Don’s proudest creations would have to be the Battleshell. Mikey had been the one to come up with the idea and present the drawing to Don but Don was the one that made it come to life.

Right now though, the vehicle needed Don’s help in staying alive. Leo had taken the Battleshell out last night on his way to go and help April in the store. On the way back he had managed to hit a pothole just right and had knocked something loose underneath the van and now it wouldn’t run right.

Leo had disappeared as soon as Don had given the prognosis fearing that his little brother would want reprisal from the one that had originally been the one to hurt his baby to begin with. He knew firsthand how devious Don could be with dishing out punishment and didn’t want to be on the bad end of it.

While Don was below the Battleshell looking around Raph was manually holding the jack to keep the vehicle raised since it appeared to have broken. This meant that when Don had his hand stuck in the underbelly to prevent further damage and couldn’t remove it, Raph was unable to assist Don in getting a wrench that he needed from down in his lab. Luckily Don could still reach his shell cell and call down to Mikey for his help.

Mikey was too afraid to venture into Don’s territory without him present after the last incident. The punishment that Don had dished out when Mikey had messed up his office hadn’t been unpleasant. In fact he had quite enjoyed it but he didn’t know what Don would come up with next time. His brainy brother could come up with some pretty original ideas.

Instead of going into Don’s lab to grab the tool that his brother had requested, Mikey instead found Leo in the dojo and asked him to get the wrench. Leo knew where Mikey was coming from when he made his request and headed straight for Don’s tool box and grabbed the needed tool and brought it out to his younger lover.

When Mikey brought the desired wrench up to the garage he couldn’t help but feel like a hero when he saw Raph trying to hold up the van. Stepping back he watched as Don made a few quick adjustments and quickly rolled out from underneath the van so Raph could lower it back down.

Donnie may be an original thinker in the family but he couldn’t do everything by himself. If he didn’t have his brothers there to help him create what he thought of then all of his plans would go to waste and their lives wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.


	341. The Title is a Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 6th - Mockingbird

There were many things about Don that Raph wasn’t sure if he would ever understand. Don’s love of programming was one of them. Raph just could not see the appeal of sitting in front of a computer and writing a bunch of lines of letters and numbers that made no sense to him and hoping that they did something that you would never even see.

Don’s love for books and reading was another thing that Raph just didn’t really get. Raph wasn’t against reading nor was he unable to do so when the moment struck him. It was more that the urge to read never struck him all that often.

Right now Raph was in Don’s lab looking at the shelves that were just crammed full of books. Their subjects ranged widely. Fiction was placed next to nonfiction and there didn’t appear t be any sort of ordering system to Raph. Mostly things just placed willy nilly.

Raph gently ran his hand over the spines of the books as he gazed at the multitude of titles. He had always know that Donnie read a lot but there was a different between knowing that his mate always had his nose stuck in some sort of book and seeing all of the books for himself.

It wasn’t like this was even his first time looking through Don’s collection. Earlier in the year Don had let him borrow the three Lord of the Rings books to read and they weren’t all that bad. Raph threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the door as he kept browsing through the shelves.

He wasn’t worried about Don walking in on him and seeing what he was doing. Don didn’t mind it if Raph was in his lab as long as he didn’t break anything while he was in there. This had been their long standing rule for a few years now.

This understand was why Raph wasn’t startled or flustered when Don came into the lab while he was pulling a book off of the shelves and looking at it more closely.

“What do you have there Raph?” Don asked

“ _How to Kill a Mockingbird_ ,” Raph read off of the cover. “That sounds interesting. It probably has a lot of violence so that would keep me interested in it.”

“Actually it probably wouldn’t,” Don warned. “No mockingbirds are killed in the entire book. That’s just the title. It’s set in the south during the Depression and deals with issues of racism.”

Raph couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose a bit. While it was an important topic of discussion, Don was right. That wasn’t really his type of book.

“Do you have any books that are actually about killing mockingbirds or do all the titles of your books lie?” Raph teased.

Don’s brow furrowed together at the mild insult to his books. He didn’t like it when anyone made fun of the things that he read, even Raph. Reaching up to one of the top shelves he pulled down a thick volume and handed it over to Raph who looked at the title: Programming for Dummies.

“Since I know how fascinated you are with my skills on the computer,” Don reasoned. “And the title is even true.”

With that Don spun around and walked out of the lab leaving Raph with a dumbfounded look on his face. They both knew that Don was only teasing but Don was proud of his comeback and wasn’t about to stick around and give Raph the chance to recover and respond.


	342. Soothing Melody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 7th - Lullaby

Despite the small incident yesterday of Raph not appreciating some of Don’s more classical books, they had still ended up in the same bed last night. Something like that was barely a blip on their radar. For them that was the slightest of teasing and something that they could laugh about later.

Laughing wasn’t exactly what Don has on his mind right at the moment. It was very early in the morning and no one in their right mind would be awake if they didn’t have to be. Right than though, Don definitely felt like he had to be.

He had been woken from his peaceful sleep when Raph began tossing and turning. Normally they were so in tune with each other that when they moved or turned over in the bed during the night the other wasn’t disturbed.

What Raph was doing was not normal tossing and turning however. When Don cracked an eye open to see what was disturbing his mate he noticed the pained expression on Raph’s face and knew that something was wrong.

It wasn’t often that Raph had nightmares but when he did they attacked with a vengeance and tended to be brutal. Knowing that if he startled his mate awake things would only get worse, Don opted for gently running his thumb over Raph’s brow to slowly bring him out of his slumber and back to full wakefulness.

After a few moments Raph took a deep breath and opened his eyes and wildly looked around the room as though expecting an attack at any moment. Don gave him a minute a minute to look around and come to the realization that he was safe in their home and that there was nothing to fear.

By the time that Raph had realized that he wasn’t in danger, Don had managed to slowly coax him into his arms. Raph could barely remember what he had just been dreaming about. All he was left with were vague memories of threatening shapes and an overwhelming feeling of danger.

That feeling of begin in danger, while having lessened, had not disappeared entirely. This made Raph very hesitant to close his eyes again and allow himself to drift back into sleep even in the arms of his lover.

Don understood Raph’s apprehension but also knew that he needed his rest. Knowing that his mate would fight him if he tried using some sort of sleeping agent, Don instead did what their father had done when they were young and had trouble sleeping.

Quietly Don began to sing an old Japanese lullaby that Master Splinter used to sing to them. It was Takeda No Komoriuta. It was an old lullaby from Kyoto that had been sung traditionally by social minority groups and that Master Splinter had heard Tang Shen singing when he still lived in Japan.

The soothing melody of the lullaby did the trick. Don could feel the tension melt away from Raph’s body and soon he had fallen once again into a deep slumber. Don remained awake for a little while longer, singing the lullaby through twice more to do his best to ease Raph’s sleep. Once he was certain that no more nightmares would bother his mate, Don closed his own eyes again content in knowing that he had helped his lover.


	343. Entertainment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 8th - Clown

Life as mutated turtles was a lot of things but boring wasn’t one of them. There were trips topside to protect their city, battles with the Foot clan to stop Shredder, and fights against the Purple Dragons to keep them from taking over the streets of New York.

They didn’t even need to leave the lair in order to find something to entertain themselves with. As long as they had Mikey around there would always be something interesting happened.

That afternoon Mikey had gotten bored reading his comics and his video games weren’t keeping his interest. Leo was in the dojo training and both Don and Raph had rebuffed his repeated attempts at dropping what they were doing to entertain him. This meant that he had to take his amusement into his own hands and he knew just what to do.

Patiently Mikey waited until all of his brothers had left what they were previously doing and had made their way to the kitchen in order to find something to eat for lunch. Once they were all in one place he lined up his skateboard, placed his Cowabunga Carl head over his own, and skated as fast as he could right at where his brothers were standing.

“What the shell Mikey?” Raph yelled as he was knocked into Don causing him to drop the Tupperware dish that he was holding.

“It’s not Mikey,” the youngest declared as he jumped off of his skateboard and posed in the middle of the room. “It’s Cowabunga Carl at your service.”

“So what, you’re going to act like a clown for the rest of the day?” Raph asked as Mikey cartwheel passed him.

Mikey just laughed as he started break dancing in the middle of the kitchen floor making it impossible for any of his brothers to continue on in their quest for food without having to work their way around him.

“Why did you guys let him start the whole Cowabunga Carl thing to begin with?” questioned Leo as he watched his mate’s antics.

To him it was an unnecessary risk that Mikey had taken by deliberately engaging humans in such a close settling without any weapons or any backup and he just couldn’t see why Don had allowed it in his absence.

“My IT job just wasn’t bringing in enough money and I needed help,” Don sighed. “Mikey offered to be a clown for kids’ birthday parties and it took a lot of the pressure off of my shoulders. I put a tracking device in the head so that I always knew where he was though in case he needed help.”

Raph placed his hand on Don’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He knew the stress that Don had been under while Leo was away and he also remembered clearly how he hadn’t done anything to help alleviate any of that stress. If anything he had only made it worse.

Leo also frowned at the memory of how his actions had affected his brothers. Mikey noticed the mood in the room dropping and went to work lifting it up. Bringing everything down hadn’t been the purpose of his escapades.

“Hey now, turn those frowns upside down,” Mikey said. “Cowabunga Carl is here to brighten up your day so just let yourselves be entertained by your own personal close and let your cares fade away.”

This drew smiles out of his three older brothers. No matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to stay in a foul mood when Mikey was doing his best to cheer them up and they didn’t even want to try something as foolish as that.


	344. Symbolic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 9th - Lion

Sunday was the one day that the boys always had off from training. It was the day that they could relax and not have to worry about doing anything that they didn’t want to do. This didn’t mean that they were forbidden from training however. If they wanted to they were certainly welcome to do so.

Right now Leo and Raph were both in a mood where they wanted to stretch their muscles and work out for a bit so they agreed to a friendly weapons sparring match. Together they circled each other in the middle of the dojo just waiting for the perfect time to attack and knock the other off of their feet.

Don and Mikey were sitting together on the sidelines watching their mates fight against each other. It wasn’t that they didn’t have anything else to do but watching their lovers sweat and flex their muscles as they sparred wasn’t something that they wanted to miss.

As Raph and Leo made their first steps that started the sparring match, Don couldn’t help but compare the two of them and how they moved. Leo was light on his feet and moved with a certain grace afforded to him by his lean muscles.

Raph of the other hand was more bulky in his musculature which made it all the more fascinating to Don that he was able to move with almost as much grace as Leo. He was light on his feet for someone of his size and Don thought that comparing him to a lion out stalking his prey wouldn’t be too far off from the truth.

The more that Don thought about it the more that he felt that Raph did possess a lot of traits that one typically attributed to a lion. When most people thought of lions they thought of strength and that was something that Raph definitely had in spades.

Raph had spent most of his training working on building up his muscles so that he could call himself the strongest out of all of his brothers and it had definitely paid off. He was now built like a tank and could open almost any locked door just by ramming into it.

The ancient Egyptians had used the lion to symbolize the sun which was also something that Don felt was similar to Raph. Out of all four of them it was Raph that felt the most drawn to the human world above them and the sunlight. Even when he was stuck down in the sewers he had still managed to capture the power of the sun in his golden eyes which could melt Donnie with a single glance.

Most of all, lions were seen as guardians and that was something that Raph was above all else. He would guard and protect his family with his life if that’s what it took to keep them safe. It had never been something that he had needed to think twice about.

Raph was the one that Donnie had turned to as a child when he had been plagued by nightmares or other childhood fears. There had never been any doubt in his mind that his big brother would protect him from anything that might want to hurt him.

Even now as Raph managed to trip Leo and knock him off of his feet, Raph still reminded Don of a lion with the roar of victory that he let out as he pinned his older brother to the ground. A lion in strength, connection to the sun, and his protective spirit, there was no better way to describe Hamato Raphael.


	345. Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 10th - Tiger

Ninjitsu practice had been mandatory during the week for the boys since they were old enough to start going scavenging for food and supplies with Master Splinter. He had wanted to make sure that if he were to bring his sons out of the safety of their home that they could protect themselves.

This meant that bad days in practice stung even more because they had been training for so long that they should be able to hold their own during practice. Today was just not a good day for Don though. He had been off his game since the moment that Master Splinter said go and he hadn’t been able to recover.

During sparring they each faced off against each of their brothers. Leo, Raph, and Mike didn’t have too bad of a time. They didn’t win all of their matches but they didn’t lose all of them either. That distinction was reserved only for Donatello. He just didn’t seem to have his mojo that morning and couldn’t keep himself together.

When the official practice had ended Master Splinter requested that Don remain behind and continue to practice his forms and katas so that such a defeat would be less likely to occur again during training. Despite it having been worded as a request, Don knew an order from his father and master when he heard one.

As soon as the dojo had cleared out Don walked to the center of the room and stood there for a moment. Closing his eyes, Don just breathed for a minute trying to center himself. He didn’t know what was up with him today but he wanted it to end now.

Once he felt that he was centered, Don pulled his bo staff out of its holster and he began working through some basic katas. Technically they were flawless. The problem was that they didn’t hold any spark to them. They were simple movements that were easily predictable and therefore, beatable.

Don knew all of this as he went through the katas but even knowing it didn’t seem to do anything to help. Unknown to Don was the fact that he had an audience standing in the doorway. Raph had been watching since Don began and was worried for his mate. Don didn’t usually struggle like this and Raph wanted to help him.

An idea suddenly occurred to Raph and he quickly left the door in search of his youngest brother. He was only gone for a few minutes but when Raph got back he could see that Don was growing more frustrated with himself and he knew just the thing to help him. Hitting the play button on Mikey’s boom box, music began to flood the dojo.

_It’s the eye of the tiger  
It’s the thrill of the fight  
Risin’ up to the challenge  
Of our rival  
And the last known survivor  
Stalks his prey in the night  
And he’s watching us all with the  
Eye of the tiger_

Don spun around quickly to see the source of the music and spotted Raph standing in the doorway with a wide grin on his face.

“What are you doing Raph?” Don asked.

“I’m just giving you something else to focus on besides what you’re doing,” Raph explained as he set the boom box down. “You’re thinking about everything too much. Just let it all go and move with the music.”

Don closed his eyes and breathed again before starting the kata from the beginning. This time he went through it flawlessly. When he finished he had a smile to match Raph’s.

“Eye of the tiger though. Really Raph?”

“Hey, I like the song and it worked so don’t dis it Donnie-boy,” Raph mock growled.

Turning off the music they both got ready to head out of the dojo. As useful as practice was, they had spent enough time doing it. Now it was time to find something more enjoyable. The dojo wasn’t the only place that Don was a tiger and Raph had a few plans on how Don could pay him back for his help.


	346. Vocabulary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 11th - Windwill

Boredom was never a good thing to have happen to all four of the boys at once. If it was only one or two of them they could go and bug their brothers to get them to entertain them but with all of them having nothing to do that seemed to capture their interests, it could be a very dangerous thing. It created the perfect atmosphere for making bets that one could regret losing.

Somehow an argument had broken out concerning who had the most creative vocabulary. Don had the most extensive one but was limited on his creativity and Mikey excelled at creativity but didn’t always have the best words to describe what he was talking about. Both Raph and Leo fell somewhere in the middle.

Before the argument could get out of hand Don had suggested a way to solve their problem. A game of scrabble. In order to win one must have a good balance of both vocabulary and creativity. Raph was the one that suggested a bet to act as an incentive for the winner. The winner would get full reign of making any request of the losers for the rest of the day and the losers would have to follow through with it.

Mikey knew exactly the penalty that he wanted impose and immediately suggested that they play as partners and called dibs on Donnie. There was some minor grumbling from Raph but not enough to change anyone’s minds about the division.

Leo started the game off with the word honor to no one’s surprise which Don followed up with ninja. Raph was the first to set the tone of the game when he played the word oral which sent the rest of the words into a tailspin of either innuendos or outright lewd words.

Words such as suck, gag, rope, sex, balls, and dildo all appeared on the board fast and furious with even traditionally uptight Leo putting in his fair share. It wasn’t until the tiles started running out that each of the boys were starting to have to really think about what they were putting down.

With two Ws and two Ls in his pile, Don used them with some letters that were already on the board to spell out windwill. As soon as Don finished spelling it out Raph tried calling him out on it.

“That’s not a real word Donnie,” Raph claimed. “You know the rules. You can’t just make up words to try and win. That’s cheating and cheating means that you automatically lose.”

“Windwill is a real word,” Don argued back, sure of himself. “It’s the name of a series of books written by Christopher Eric Outridge. If you don’t believe me you can go check my bookshelves in the lab.”

Raph really didn’t want to be proven wrong and immediately took Don up on his challenge and left the table to go check for himself. After a minute he had to return and admit that Don was right and that windwill was a real word.

The game didn’t last too much longer after that before all of the tiles had been used. When all of the points were totaled up, Don and Mikey won the game by a clear margin making Leo and Raph the losers. Mikey quickly jumped from the table and began dragged Leo upstairs to his room saying that Leo would have so much fun with what he had planned.

“So do you know what you want for winning?” Raph asked a little nervously.

“Oh I have a pretty good idea,” Don murmured as he walked up to Raph with a sultry sway in his hips and placed his arms around Raph’s neck so that he could whisper in his ear. “You won’t even have to worry about any vocabulary. In fact, you’ll be lucky if you can remember your own name by the time that I’m done with you.”


	347. Stress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 12th - Whirl

Don let out a large sigh as he leaned forwards and placed his head in his hands. He was sitting in the office for the repair business and had been looking over all of the information. The holiday season had been far busier than he had expected and they were swamped.

The past few weeks since Thanksgiving had ended and the shopping season had begun had gone by in a whirl. He had no idea how that much time had passed without him noticing and now it was less than two weeks away from Christmas.

Don could definitely tell that Christmas was fast approaching because the number of orders on their site had continued to rise. This meant that Don had a lot to keep track of right now and it was beginning to stress him out a bit.

Right now his mind was a whirlwind of broken items that they brought into the lair, items that they had repaired but weren’t on the site yet, items that were on the site but hadn’t sold yet, and items that had sold and needed to be shipped.

On top of all of that Don had to worry about the supplies that he and Raph used to repair the items. Things like wires and screws had to be replaced after them had been used. In addition Don also had to keep track of the money coming in from the sales and the money going out in shipping, getting new supplies, and other expenses around the lair.

While Don was in the office trying to get himself to calm down from the stress so that he could do the work that needed to get done so that he could go to bed soon, Raph was down in the lab crushing up a sleeping pill so that he could mix it with a bottle of water to give to Don.

It wasn’t good that his mate was starting to work himself to the point of exhaustion and Raph wasn’t about to let him if he had any say in it. He knew that there was a lot of work that went into the business but Don couldn’t be allowed to wear himself down like this. In the morning Raph would be having a talk with Don about turning over more responsibility to him so that Don wouldn’t be so stressed out.

As soon as the pills had been crushed into a fine power Raph set about mixing them into the water so it wouldn’t be noticed. When he was satisfied with his work he brought the water upstairs to Don and gently shook him out of his previous positions and convinced him to drink the water.

Don had barely drunk half of the water bottle before he felt his head begin to feel fuzzy and for the world to start whirling around him. Just as his legs began to feel rubbery like they wouldn’t support his weight any longer, Raph swooped in and picked him up into his arms and carried him out of the room.

“Raph,” Don managed to murmur as his eyes drifted closed.

“Just relax Donnie-boy. I’ve got you. You’re just gonna rest for the night and then you can go back to working in the morning but you’re gonna rest now okay?” Raph said as he walked into their room and proceeded to tuck Don under the covers of their bed.

“Mmmm,” was all Don could say as he felt himself being pulled under sleep’s spell. In the morning he planned on giving Raph a piece of his mind about drugging him but for right now he wasn’t going to waste the energy.


	348. Degree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 13th - College

When Don woke up in the morning he felt incredibly well rested. As much as he wanted to complain to Raph about drugging him and dragging him off to bed last night, he just couldn’t find it in his heart to do so. He had really needed the sleep so he couldn’t really hold it against Raph too much.

Now that he was well rested it was time for him to get back to work. Raph had already spent most of the morning with him insisting on learning more about the inventory side of the business so that he could take some of the workload off of Don’s hands which Don appreciated immensely.

Right now though Don was on his own. Mikey had made spaghetti with meatballs for lunch and Raph was going down to grab them both a plate before it got too cold to eat. While his partner was gone Don was skimming through the internet trying to get an idea of what to get his brothers for Christmas. He was aware that he was waiting until near the end to get his gifts but he had been too busy up until now.

While he was skimming through the internet an advertisement appeared on the screen for NYU and Don couldn’t help but stare at it. As much as he could learn and had learned on his own just by his own research, Don couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to go to college.

To attend a college with his peers and learn from teachers that had studied in their field would be a dream come true. There was so much that Don knew that he could gain if he ever had the opportunity to go to college.

Unfortunately fate was not that kind. He was a mutant turtle and no college had a box to check off for that. Don knew that he would always be regulated to learning from the internet and any books that he could find that humans had thrown away. This didn’t mean that he couldn’t stare at the ad and dream a little bit.

This was how Raph found his mate when he brought their lunch up to the office. When he saw the ad on the computer Raph knew exactly what was going through Don’s head. It wasn’t like the thought had never occurred to Raph before. He knew just how smart his brother was and the potential that he had.

“You could do it you know,” Raph said startling Don out of his thoughts. “You could go to school and get a degree.”

“Oh really? And how exactly would I manage that?” Don asked, not able to keep the full bitterness out of his voice.

“You could enroll in an online program,” Raph suggested. “You’d never have to show up in a classroom and you could still take classes and learn stuff and get your degree. You can’t tell me that you’ve never thought about it before.”

Don sighed as he looked back at the screen. “Yeah but it isn’t that simple,” Don thought out loud. “I’d have to fake school records and a social security number and everything that’s required on an application. Not to mention the costs involved. I know that we’re making a decent amount with our business right now but that will slow down again when Christmas is over and we need that money for the family. Not for some selfish whim of mine.”

Raph frowned as he heard Don’s reasoning. He knew what his brother was saying was true but that didn’t mean that he had to like it.

“We’ll figure something out Donnie,” Raph promised. “We always do.”


	349. Savings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 14th - Piggy Bank

Raph’s breath puffed out of his chest as he worked at his punching bag. The dull ache that was slowly spreading throughout his arms and chest gave a testament to how long he had been in the dojo working at the bag. This was his way to relax and unwind.

Working on his punching bag also allowed him to clear his mind much in the same way that meditation did for Leo. It was a repetitive motion that he didn’t have to think about in order to do which left his mind with the ability to wander and come up with plans of action.

This was exactly what Raph was doing right now. While he let his body go onto autopilot he allowed his mind to work with the problem of Don going to college. He knew how much Don would love to go to college if he was ever given the chance.

He would love to be able to give Don that chance but the question was how. Raph had every confidence in Don’s ability to create the paper trail needed to fill out an application in order to be accepted by a college. Taking online classes would also solve the problem of being exposed to humans.

The biggest problem that stood between Don and his dream was the money. As mutants they didn’t have an unlimited piggy bank nor did they have the ability to take out a loan from a bank to cover the costs. Most of what they had they made or fixed and they used the money that they did have to buy things that were essential which didn’t leave much left over at the end of the day.

Raph paused half way through a punch to the bag and just stood there for a moment as his previous thought slowly rolled through his head. A piggy bank might just be an answer to their problem. Turning and leaving the dojo Raph went to go and put this idea into action.

Going to the recycling bin he pulled out a glass jar and went and borrowed some paints from Mikey. After some quick work the jar was painted pink with a pig face on the front and a curly tail on the back. Once the paint was dry he went and found Don in his lab and presented the jar to his mate.

“What’s this Raph?” Don asked looking at the jar with a confused expression on his face.

“It’s a piggy bank,” Raph explained proudly. “I know it isn’t exactly like a normal piggy bank but it serves the same purpose.”

Don couldn’t tear his eyes away from the jar in his hands. Carefully he ran his finger tips over the painted pig face that was staring up at him.

“I figured that whenever we had a little extra money we could put it in here,” Raph continued. “When we find a couple bucks on the street or return cans for cash at a redemption center we can put it in here. I know that it could take a while to save up this way but it’s the best idea that I could come up with.”

Don jumped up from his chair and threw his arms around Raph keeping a tight hold on the piggy bank. “Thank you Raphie,” Don whispered. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just the fact that you did this for me means the world to me.”

Don finished his proclamation with a sound kiss to Raph’s lips.

“Anything for you Donnie-boy,” Raph promised as he looked down at the shining eyes of his mate. “Anything for you.”


	350. Caught on Tape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 15th - Theft

Night had fallen over the city and that meant that those that couldn’t walk about in the sunlight could emerge from beneath the city and roam around the streets that were typically crowded with humans. With the day turned to night, Raph and Don were prepared to take full advantage of the freedom that the darkness afforded them.

Tonight they had a plan to go and visit April at her apartment. They had some more items that they were selling all packaged up and ready to ship off into the mail. Since they couldn’t walk into a post office themselves, April had offered to mail the packages for them.

With Leo and Mikey each lending a hand the four of them loaded the parcels into the Battleshell since there were too many for Raph and Don to just carry in their arms. When everything was completely loaded up Leo and Mikey went back down to the lair and Don climbed into the driver’s seat while Raph took the passenger’s side and they headed off to April’s.

Just as the boys were rounding the last corner before reaching April’s store Don had to slam on the breaks suddenly. Out of nowhere two kids darted out in the middle of the street right in front of the Battleshell and would have gotten hit if Don’s reflexes weren’t so fast.

As it was one of them still ended up hitting the front of the van when he couldn’t slow himself down in time. His companion grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away and the two of them ran off into the night.

Once Don’s heart had stopped trying to pound its way out of his chest he carefully eased the van forward the rest of the way down the street to April’s store. Beside him Raph was swearing up a storm about stupid kids running around at night and not watching where they’re going.

When they finally reached the store however they noticed that all of the lights were turned on. The boys knew that their friends knew that they were coming over so turning on all of the lights would make it more difficult to stay in the shadows and not be seen.

They parked the van in the alleyway and climbed up the fire escape to the kitchen window to avoid all of the lights. When they let themselves in through the window it was to see April angrily pacing the living room floor with Casey futilely trying to get her to sit down.

“What’s going on April?” Don asked worriedly as he rushed over to his friend. “Is everything all right?”

“No it isn’t,” April seethed as she continued pacing across the floor oblivious to Casey’s attempts to get her to stop and calm down. “There was a theft in the store. Some kids broke in a few minutes ago and stole some money from the register before running off.”

Casey gave up at trying to calm his wife down for the moment and turned to explain everything to the turtles. “We were watching a movie so we didn’t hear them pick the lock,” Casey said. “It wasn’t until the resister fell to the floor that we knew anything was going on. By the time I got downstairs they were running down the street. I was gonna go after them but I was only in my boxers.”

Raph’s face hardened as he heard what happened. “I think we ran into them on our way here,” Raph growled. “Donnie nearly ran them over with the van when they ran into the streets. If I’d of known I’d of grabbed them than.”

“Don’t worry too much April,” Don said trying to comfort his friend. “You can call the police and show them the security cameras that I installed in your store. One of them had to have got at least the kids’ faces on tape since they are equipped with night vision after all.”

“Thank Donnie,” April said. “And thank you too Raph. You guys are the best. Nobody steals from my store and gets away with it.”


	351. Christmas Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 16th - Apartment

After the robbery in April’s store last night the Hamato family wanted to assure themselves of the safety of their extended family. As such they had gone over to April and Casey’s apartment for the evening to share dinner with them and take comfort in their company.

Dinner had finished and desert had been consumed. The dishes were sitting stacked up in the sink just waiting for someone to wash them but no one was in the mood right now. Together the seven of them had all found places to sit in the small living room and were sipping on mugs of hot chocolate.

As the mugs began to empty, the conversations turned from what had happened last night to what would be happening within the next week. Christmas was fast approaching and plans needed to be made.

“Christmas is coming up soon and Casey and I had made some plans for the holiday,” April announced to the group. “We were planning on leaving the apartment in two days and heading up to the farmhouse to spend Christmas up there. You guys are more than welcome to join us.”

“That is a very kind offer Mrs. Jones,” Master Splinter said. “We would love to accompany you to the farmhouse for this joyous time of year. Thank you for the invitation.”

“That’s awesome!” Mikey exclaimed as he launched himself across the room and pulled her into a giant bear hug. “I’ll make the best Christmas cookies ever and we’ll decorate the tree and have presents and build snowmen and snow turtles and sing songs and…”

Mikey was cut off in his rambling of everything that he wanted to do when Raph picked up a cookie that was sitting on the table and shoved it into his mouth to make him shut up.

Leo shot a mild glare at Raph as Mikey choked on the first bite of the cookie but ignored him as soon as his mate caught his breath. “We truly appreciate your offer April but what made you guys want to leave your apartment for the holiday?” Leo asked. “Especially after what happened last night.”

“We’ve been planning this for a while now,” Casey spoke up. “We’re not gonna let some punk kids determine where we can go and where we have to stay.”

“The apartment is nice and all but there’s more space at the farmhouse. Especially if you guys are willing to come with us,” April added.

“We would be most honored to join you in your home for this holiday that is meant to be spent with loved ones,” Master Splinter agreed.

Speaking up for the first time Don said, “We’ll need to take both the Battleshell and you’re van if we’re going to fit everyone and all of the stuff that we’ll need for an extended vacation as well as the presents.”

“It’s settled than,” April said as she clapped her hands together with a wide smile on her face. “We’ll pack everything we need and meet you at the garage on Tuesday and then we’ll all travel up together.”

The cheers and the talking that followed showed everyone’s enthusiasm for this plan for Christmas. Tuesday wouldn’t come soon enough for any of them.


	352. Cold and Wet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 17th - Beach

While both Don and Raph were looking forward to heading up to the farmhouse for Christmas with their friends, this did mean that they needed to get some things in order first. They wouldn’t be able to bring everything from their business up to the farmhouse with them so they had to get everything set to leave it behind.

This meant that they had to immediately put up a notice on their site that they wouldn’t be accepting any more orders until after the holidays. They would also need to finish repairing and ship out the orders that they already had before posting the notice.

Part of finishing some of the projects before they had to leave would be to go and grab some last minute supplies from the junkyard. The downside was that it had been snowing all day long and by the time they got back to the lair they were both cold and wet from head to foot.

“What I wouldn’t give to be on a beach in Florida right now,” Don grumbled as he peeled off the wet clothes that were clinging to his body.

“Can’t take the cold Donnie-boy?” Raph teased even as he shivered while pulling off his own wet clothes.

“We are turtles Raph,” Don pointed out as he began to rub a towel over his skin in an effort to both dry off and to return some warmth to his body. “We may be mutated but we still have some of our turtle traits and part of that is being more susceptible to the cold.”

Raph reached over and accepted the towel that Don was offering him and followed his mate’s example of drying off. “So your solution is to move to another state just so that you can lay on the beach?” Raph asked. “Count me in. It has to be better than all of this snow and winter has only just started so we’re sure to get more.”

Once they were both dry they hung their wet clothes up on some hangers to let them dry off. Their next course of action was to head to the kitchen in search of hot drinks to warm themselves up from the inside out.

As they walked in they passed Mikey running in the opposite direction headed straight for the elevator that would take him up to the garage. He was all bundled in boots, sweatpants, a thick sweatshirt, a scarf wrapped around his neck, and a hat obscuring his face.

Behind him was Leo dressed similarly but walking at a more reserved pace. “We’re heading topside to go and build snow turtles,” Leo informed them. “Mikey just can’t wait until we get to the farmhouse tomorrow. There’s some hot chocolate already heating up in the kitchen for you.”

Raph and Don just watched as their brothers took the elevator topside to go and play in the snow. They knew that they would have the lair to themselves for at least a couple of hours if Mikey’s past snow adventures were anything to go by.

“You know, if we were at a beach right now we wouldn’t get to hear about how Mikey triumphed over Leo in the most epic snowball fight ever,” Raph thought out loud.

“Yeah. It might be worth it to stay just to hear about that,” Don agreed as he turned to go and pour himself a cup of hot chocolate. There was no reason to let it go to waste while they were waiting.


	353. Hurt Tail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 18th - Sand

Alarms began ringing early in the morning pulling sleeping turtles from their dreams and into the world of the waking. Today was the day that they were going to head up to the farmhouse to spend Christmas and they wanted to get out on the road while it was still dark in order to avoid as many humans as possible.

With it so early none of the boys were fully awake as they started moving throughout the lair. They had packed up everything that they would need last night with the exceptions of last minutes items such as toothbrushes. Donnie’s toothbrush got a workout as he started throwing back cup after cup of coffee as soon as he set foot in the kitchen.

They were all packed up with everything in the Battleshell and ready to go as soon as April and Casey showed up in their van. Master Splinter opted to ride with the human couple due to more comfortable seats while the boys all piled into the Battleshell.

Don took the driver’s seat since he was the one that had been chugging coffee since getting out of bed and was therefore the most awake out of the four. Raph took the front passenger’s seat to keep Don company while Leo and Mikey curled up close together in the back and dozed off for most of the ride.

The ride itself up to the farmhouse was very uneventful. They managed to miss the vast majority of the morning traffic due to their early start and Don got to watch the sunrise over to his right as he drove. Together the two vehicles made good time and reached the farmhouse in a few hours.

Getting there was the easy part. Stopping was more challenging. Because no one had gone up there since Don and Raph’s vacation in the summer the driveway was slick with new fallen snow and both vans slid a bit as the snow provided no traction with which to slow down properly.

Once the Battleshell had found a place to park, Raph threw open his door and jumped out so that he could start uploading things. He didn’t make it very far when his feet slid right out from under him as soon as they touched the ground and he ended up flat on his back looking up at the sky.

The sound of laughter followed Raph as he regained his feet and trudged over to the house and around back to the barn. By the time he came back out carrying a heavy looking sack, everyone else had begun to unpack.

Starting at the front steps, Raph opened the sack and began dumping out handfuls of sand onto the ground. Once the steps were covered he made his way back to the vehicles leaving a path of sand behind him.

“Raph what are you doing with all of that sand?” Casey asked.

“I’m gonna put the sand down on the ground to make it easier to walk on,” Raph growled. “Damn driveway’s an ice rink and I really don’t feel like falling on my tail again. Once was enough thank you very much.”

Don walked up beside Raph as he worked and whispered in his ear. “When you’re done putting down the sand, come inside and I’ll see what I can do about your hurt tail.”


	354. Snowball Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 19th - Sunset

The second day up at the farmhouse had been a lot of work. The house had been closed up since the summer and as such needed airing out and a good bit of dusting off to make it livable. Some of that work had been done yesterday when they first got there but they had all been tired from getting up early and unloading and unpacking that not much had gotten done.

This meant that the majority of the day was dedicated to cleaning up the house and making it inhabitable. Casey went outside to clear away snow, April and Mikey took over the kitchen, Leo and Master Splinter focused on the ground floor rooms, and Raph and Don fixed up the upstairs bedrooms.

By the time the house was clean enough to meet April and Master Splinter’s standards the day was mostly over and everyone was tired. Mikey had thrown together a quick dinner with April’s help and the meal was eaten in relative silence.

Cleaning the house wasn’t enough to get the boys out of practice however. Master Splinter still insisted that they stick to their training schedule even while they were away from the lair. As such, he had all four of them bundle up to ward off the cold and head outside.

While they were out in the yard they were to divide into teams of two and to create the most secure and defensible position that they could using only what they could find on the ground in the yard. The strength of the defenses that they were creating would be tested by pelting the opposing team with snow packed into hard spheres.

As soon as the boys realized that their training would be to have a snow ball fight they ran into the yard as fast as they could. Mikey and Leo darted to right and began immediate construction of their fort. Don and Raph swung over to the left, far enough away that they wouldn’t be in immediate danger but still close enough to attack from.

The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon by the time that both sides had their forts ready. Raph, being the impulsive hothead that he was, threw the first snowball. The projectile landed squarely in Leo’s face and all Hell broke loose after that.

Snowballs were traded back and forth as the sunset painted a beautiful mural across the sky as a backdrop to their battle. The sunset unknowingly marked the progress of the snowball fight. When the sky was at its most beautiful with splashes of color as far as the eye could see snowballs were flying hard and fast. As the sun sank down out of sight the snowballs slowed down as the work from the day caught up with the boys.

Tiredly they dropped the last bits of snow from their hands and looked up at the night sky that was just being revealed and the sunset disappeared from view. The stars that slowly winked into view were something that couldn’t be seen in the city with all of its light which made it all the more precious to see it now.

It was only when they became too cold through inaction that they finally left behind the snow and the sky and returned inside the house for the night. Everything would still be out there in the morning waiting for them. Until then, it was time to be with their family.


	355. Morning Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 20th - Sunrise

Sleep was something that none of the boys took for granted. Spending most of their lives getting up early in the morning in order to train and not always knowing when they were going to bed because of patrols made a deep and sound sleep something of value.

This is why when Raph felt himself pulled out of his slumber he was a little grumpy about it. Opening his eyes just enough that they resembled tiny slits, he looked around to see what it was that had woken him.

Nothing in the room seemed out of place as far as he could see. Eventually his eyes were drawn to the window and the beautiful sunrise that was appearing on the horizon. It was this light that was streaming in through the window that had woken Raph up.

Living in the sewers all of his life had made it so that Raph was more used to complete darkness than he was to sunlight. He was used to being woken up by an alarm clock in the morning and opening his eyes to a dark room not a bright sunrise.

Once he was a bit more awake, Raph looked down at the peacefully sleeping turtle that was laying in his arms. This was one of the places that Raph felt the most content. When everything was quiet and he had Don safe within his arms there could be nothing wrong in the world as far as Raph was concerned.

Tightening his arms slightly, Raph drew Don even closer to him and nuzzled at his forehead. He kept his movements light enough however that he didn’t wake Don up. It was still early and Don should get all of the sleep that he could in Raph’s opinion.

As he breathed in the scent that was unique to his mate Raph found himself staring out the window. The reds, purples, and golds that filled the sky were fascinating to him. The sunrise was something that he rarely got to see. Normally he was asleep when it happened. Even the times when he was awake during a sunrise he was underground to make sure that he wouldn’t get trapped topside in the light where humans could see him.

Just as the sunrise was starting to fade and the sunshine was streaming more strongly into the room Don began to make his own way out of slumber. It began with a change in his breathing and than a stretching of his muscles.

Not quite ready to wake up yet, Don buried his face into Raph’s neck without opening his eyes. He was warm and comfortable and he wasn’t about t move if he didn’t have to. Since he was facing away from the window Don wasn’t as affected by the light and was able to continue laying there without being forced to wake up.

“Why were you awake so early?” Don murmured.

“I woke up because of the light and decided to watch the sunrise,” Raph answered. “Now I just wanna stay here with you.”

“I’m okay with that,” Don said sleepily.

They didn’t have to get up for at least another hour and until then they were both content to lay in bed together and bask in the rising sun and each other.


	356. On the Front Porch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 21st - Swing

One nice thing about the farmhouse was that it was bigger than both the lair and April and Casey’s apartment. This gave everyone more room to hang out in and made it so that no one had to sit on anyone else’s lap unless they wanted to.

Having such a big house at their disposal provided other benefits as well. If any coupled wanted some alone time with their partner it was easy enough to find a place. There were enough rooms in the house and enough places outside that everyone could have their own space.

Practice had finished up about an hour ago and now Raph and Don just wanted some time together. Today Master Splinter had them working on their stealth. One at a time they each had to try and evade their brothers for at least fifteen minutes while the others tracked them.

The snow that was on the ground made this even more challenging than usual. In the end though Don had been the most successful at the stealth and evasion lesson. He had been able to use his bo staff to pole vault himself from one clear spot to the next without leaving a trail behind.

Don was still talking animatedly about the fact that he had beaten all of his brothers in practice, especially when just over a week ago he hadn’t been able to beat any of them. Eventually they gathered up a thick blanket and made their way outside and onto the porch.

There was a cute swing that was located over to the side out of the way of the door. They spread the blanket down onto the seat of the swing that way they wouldn’t freeze their tails off and cuddled close together to keep warm with the extra blanket folded over their laps.

Sitting on the front porch swing gave the two lovers the perfect view of the open field in front of the farmhouse. The field was covered in snow as were the trees that framed the field. From the swing it was almost possible to believe that they had stepped in a picture from a Christmas card.

This comfortable scene only lasted for a few minutes however. The swing that they were sitting on was old and wasn’t used to holding up the weight of two mutant turtle and soon gave way under the pressure.

The blanket they had been sitting on may have protected them from the cold of the swing but it did nothing to help cushion their fall. After landing on the ground in a tangle of limbs, blanket, and remnants of swing supports, Don and Raph struggled to free themselves from what had once been a comfortable seating area.

Once they were both standing up and had checked each other over for injuries they turned to look at what remained of the porch swing. What had once been a nice place to sit and look out over the yard was now just a pile of broken pieces of wood and a worn out cushion.

Raph glanced sideways at Don. “Do you think April will notice?”


	357. Naked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 22nd - Birthday

The day was winding down and the sun had set below the horizon. The temperature had dropped making it an unwise decision to be running around outside. Raph and Leo had never been known for making the wisest decisions when it came to competing with one another though.

Right now they were both out in the barn having their own practice match. It had begun as simply sparring with each other but soon became a full out battle as each strived to best the other. They used everything that was within the barn to their best advantage, moving up to the hayloft and around old machinery until they were both covered in sweat. In the end it was Leo that managed to come out on top when Raph lost a second by tripping on an old rope, giving Leo just enough time to pin him to the floor.

With their practice over they both headed back into the house and from there they separated to their own tasks. Leo went to meditate and Raph went upstairs to take a shower and wash all of the sweat off of his body. His sweaty gear made a pile on the floor as he stepped under the steaming hot spray.

Once he was all clean again, Raph stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel to start drying off with. He didn’t want to leave a wet trail behind him when he headed back to the room that he and Don shared together. Once that was done he went to wrap the towel around his waist in a semblance of modesty.

It wasn’t like the ninja gear and mask that he wore throughout the day covered all that much but those things still acted for him like clothes did for humans. The problem was that the towel he was using, while good enough to dry off with, wasn’t big enough to wrap all the way around his shell.

With a frustrated sigh Raph threw the towel into the basket, picked up his sweat covered gear and walked into the hallway. He would just have to make his way to the room in only his birthday suit. This wasn’t that big of a deal to Raph. It wasn’t like anything that was hidden with his gear on was now suddenly on display.

As he passed by the master bedroom the door opened and April came out. The sight of one of the turtles walking around in just his birthday suit stopped her dead in her tracks. It wasn’t that she had never seen any of the turtles without their gear on, she had stayed with them after her apartment was destroyed by the Shredder, but it was still very strange.

For a moment both of them just stood there before April averted her eyes and rushed past Raph towards the staircase. Raph couldn’t help the flush that painted his cheeks as he quickly finished his journey to the bedroom. Once the door closed behind him and his gear was dumped to the side Raph crawled into bed beside Don and buried his face into his lover’s neck.

“Is everything okay Raph?” Don asked concerned over his mate’s strange behavior.

“Yeah, I just ran into April after I left the bathroom,” Raph’s muffled voice escaped from where his face was hiding. “I was as naked as the day I was hatched.”

“I don’t know about April but that’s the way I like you best,” Don teased as he shifted down in the bed until his lips met Raph’s.

With Raph already stripped down to his birthday suit there wasn’t much work for Don to do. All he needed now was to get Raph all worked up and find the lube and they would be all set to get all nice and sweaty again.


	358. Noise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 23rd - Claim

For the most part the pros of being at the farmhouse vastly outweighed the cons for the turtles. There was more room, they could hang out with their friends all of the time, and they could walk around outside in the sunlight without being afraid of being seen by anyone.

The biggest down side was when a couple was trying to find some private time for themselves without announcing it to the entire house. Finding a room to be alone in was easy enough. The problem was that the walls between rooms were thin and sound could travel easily without the soundproofing material that Don had set up back in the lair.

This was the predicament that Raph and Don were finding themselves in right now. What had started as an innocent shoulder massage to work out some knots that had formed during the day had devolved into something completely different.

Raph currently had Don kneeling down on the bed and was doing everything that he could to pull as many churrs, moans, and groans from his smaller mate that he could. Right now he had an olive green tail in his mouth while his hands were busy rubbing and caressing the round ass that was right in front of his face.

Don for his part was leaning forward onto his elbows and was doing his best to strangle the sheets that he had clenched in a white knuckled grip. He absolutely loved what Raph was doing to him but he wasn’t going to just melt into his grasp. If Raph was going to claim him then he was going to have to work at it.

When Raph heard the low moan that managed to make its way past Don’s lips he couldn’t help but smirk in satisfaction. Using his mouth to form a vacuum around the tail, Raph pulled his mouth off of it with a slurp, nipping the tip just before he let go.

With his mouth out of the way Raph’s hands came up to take its place. One hand went to play along the length of Don’s tail and the other teased at the puckered entrance. The saliva that had been left by his mouth acted as lube for Raph to push his finger inside Don and to start stretching him for something much bigger.

The sight of Don panting and trembling under his ministrations pushed Raph past the point of control. Sitting up onto his knees, Raph allowed his erection to drop down, spit onto his hand to lube himself up, and pushed into the hot body of his mate.

As Raph pushed into him, Don released his own erection to the air. Their combined churrs filled the room as Raph claimed his mate with everything that he had. The bed was squeaking as Raph thrust wildly back and forth and Don couldn’t stop the loud praises that he was singing in his mate’s name.

“Shh Donnie,” Raph chided. “We don’t want everyone hearing us now do we?”

Don clamped his mouth closed as he shook his head no. He absolutely loved feeling his mate claiming him as his own but it wasn’t something that he wanted his brothers, father, or friends to walk in on while it was happening.

The pleasure just kept building for both of them though until it suddenly became too much and their climaxes hit them both hard. Raph kept thrusting as they rode out the waves of their orgasms into the overwhelming feeling of afterglow.

As they pulled apart but settled down right next to each other Don let out a contented sigh. A nice, slow session of making love was definitely something that he cherished and held close to his heart but there was something about Raph claiming his as he had just done that never failed to make Don weak in the knees and feel as desirable as he did right now.


	359. Early Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 24th - Stamp

It was the day before Christmas which meant that there were some last minute things that needed to get done. There were presents that needed to be wrapped before they could go under the tree and goodies to me made.

Mikey had deemed himself in charge of making the Christmas cookies that would be set out for Santa before they went to bed that night. It had always been a tradition for all four of them to work on making the cookies together. This would allow all of them to take make and to put their own personal stamp on the cookies that ended up on the plate.

The dough started as basic sugar cookie dough. It was up to each brother to put his own stamp to it with any extras that they added and the ways that the cookies were decorated. Four cookies would make their way onto the plate for Santa, one for each of the brothers. The others would be eaten as dessert both tonight and tomorrow night.

Mikey was adding lots of sugar and sprinkles to the top of his cookies while Leo used a light frosting to draw traditional Japanese symbols for family. Don was attempting to draw a Christmas tree and Raph was just putting whatever came into his hand onto the cookie.

After the cookies were finished Don headed upstairs to the room that he and Raph were sharing to finish wrapping his Christmas presents. When they had travelled up to the farmhouse he had put all of his gifts into a sack together so that they couldn’t be seen but they weren’t wrapped yet.

As much as Don tried not to, every year he waited until the last minute to box and wrap everything up. He was trying to be better but with everything that he had to do with keeping the lair running it always kept getting pushed back until there was no more time to wait.

There was one thing that he was doing this year to try and speed up the process of getting his gifts ready. This year Don had modifies on old library stamp to create a to and from tag for each of the gift. It was a simple matter of twisting the knobs and the stamp was personalized for each package.

When Don opened the door to start taking the gifts downstairs to put around the tree Raph fell over from where he had been leaning against the door trying to sneak a peek. Don just stood there and stared down at his mate for a moment before bursting out into laughter at his plight.

Raph blushed and grumbled a bit as he stood back up and looked at Don sheepishly. With tears streaming down his face from how hard he was laughing, Don just pushed some of the boxes into Raph’s arms to help with and left the room and headed for the stair case.

Once all of Don’s gifts were placed under the tree with everyone else’s he stood back up to thank Raph for his help. Instead of accepting his mate’s thanks, Raph moved fast using the stamp that he had taken from the room and slapped it against Don’s bottom.

_To: Raph  
From: Santa_

“Looks like Santa brought me an early Christmas present,” Raph smirked at Don’s astonished face.


	360. Paper Cut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 25th - Wounds

Dawn had barely broken with the sun peeking over the horizon when the sound of footsteps thundering down the stairs could be heard throughout the house. Mikey was up bright and early to get a quick start to the day and opening his presents with Leo following behind him at a more stately pace.

Raph and Don slowly followed behind their more awake brothers. While they too may have wanted to open their presents, they weren’t appreciative of being woken up by being jumped on. The only thing that kept them from hogtying their younger brother was the fact that they knew they wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep because Leo would come in to lecture them.

When they got down to the ground floor of the house they immediately followed their noses to the kitchen where April was working away. Don separated from his brothers and went to pour both himself and Raph cups of coffee to try and wake them up.

When fluffy slices of French toast were placed onto the table it was enough to distract the boys from their visions of tearing into their gifts. Once breakfast was done however there was no stopping them from gathering around the tree and passing out presents to everyone.

Slowly paper was peeled away to reveal gifts that had been carefully thought of and procured for each individual. For the most part the wrapping paper fell before hands eager to see what it was covering. Occasionally it decided to fight back.

“Owww,” Raph exclaimed as he pulled his hand away from the paper as though he had just been burned.

He automatically brought his finger up to his mouth and began sucking on the wounded digit. Under his breath Raph cursed at the pain and his own clumsiness and Don scooted over and tried to take a look at how his mate had hurt himself.

“Let me see your hand Raph,” Don ordered as he struggled with his mate to grab his hand.

“Did big bad Raphie get a huge gaping battle wound from an itty bitty Christmas present?” Mikey teased. 

Raph sent a glare over at his youngest brother as he stopped fighting against Don and let him take a look at his wounded finger. Holding Raph’s hand up to the light, Don turned it back and forth to examine the extent of the injury.

“Well I don’t think that I’ll have to amputate but it was a close call,” Don said with as serious an expression as he could manage.

With one fluid movement Don stood up and walked over to the bathroom. When he returned he was holding a small Band-Aid. It was but the work of a moment for Don to take the wrapper off and wrap the Band-Aid around Raph’s hurt finger.

“There,” said Don. “That should take care of your warrior’s wound and help it heal up very nicely.”

Raph stuck his tongue out at his mate’s cheekiness but was smiling as he did so. It was just too nice of a day to become angry over something so small. Besides, he did kind of deserve the teasing after his small outburst when he got the paper cut.


	361. Sticky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 26th - Marshmallow

It was the last night that they were all going to spend up at the farmhouse for this vacation and they wanted to make sure that they had the most fun possible. It was too cold outside to have a campfire like they had done when they were hiding from the Shredder but they did have a big fireplace inside the house.

As far as the boys were concerned the fireplace would serve just as well as a campfire and they could be indoors out of the elements. It also had the added benefit that they would not need to worry about any bugs crawling over them or over their food which made Raph happy.

The start of their pseudo camping trip had been a little rocky when Casey couldn’t even get the fire started. Every time he got a small flame going he would pile too much wood on it, starving it of oxygen and putting it right out.

Eventually Leo had worked his way in there, taken over the job, and got the fire blazing in no time flat. The next agenda item had been dinner. After much wheedling from Mikey and checking by Don to make sure that it would be safe, sticks were found and the seven of them roasted hotdogs over the open flames.

As everyone took a turn cooking their hotdogs stories were exchanged, both new ones and ones that had been told many times over by that point. As long as they got everyone to laugh it didn’t matter very much what was said.

When they had finished eating Don snuck away from the group for a moment and ran upstairs. When he came back down he was carrying an industrial size bag of marshmallows. According to Don, one could not have a campfire, even an indoor one, without roasting marshmallows on it.

Don had barely gotten the bag open when a fight over who could grab the first marshmallow started. After some good natured shoving and a few eyes nearly poked out with the sticks, everyone had their own marshmallow to brown over the fire.

April, Casey, and Master Splinter ate a few of the sugary treats before calling it quits. The four boys on the other hand acted as though they hadn’t eaten in a week with how many of the marshmallow rounds they were consuming.

One marshmallow was barely off the stick after having reached a golden brown consistency before another was taking its place. This meant that the ends of the sticks were quickly becoming very sticky.

Raph found this out the hard way. Mikey had been recounting to April the heroic tale of how he became the Battle Nexus Champion and using his marshmallow stick to add emphasis. On one backwards swing he caught Raph square across the snout and left a giant white stripe behind.

Don could see that Raph was momentarily stunned but would soon react and he didn’t want their last night at the farmhouse to end in a fight. Quickly he slid over into Raph’s lap and gave a tiny lick to the white sugar that had been left behind.

That one small action stopped anything Raph was about to say and directed his full attention towards his mate. The tension that had built up dissipated and everyone went back to what they had been doing. The only difference now was that Raph couldn’t wait to get Don back upstairs to the bedroom.


	362. No Place Like Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 27th - Bed

While the original intention had been to get up early to leave the farmhouse and head back into the city like they had done when heading up to the farmhouse, that plan did not work out. During the night they had gotten almost a foot of snow and rain was starting to mix in with it by the time that they all woke up.

This dismal weather and the reports that they were getting about cars already being off the road due to slippery conditions were enough to send everyone straight back to bed. They would check the weather later on that evening to see if things were better for them to drive home. None of them wanted to risk their lives on dangerous roads or for the guys and Master Splinter to get caught in the sunlight by observant humans by leaving in the afternoon.

When the sun started to go down at the end of the day the weather began to finally clear up. This meant that it was finally safe enough for them to hit the road and start the hours long trip back home. By the time that they got back to the city it was late and everyone was getting tired and a little cranky.

Getting home was just the beginning of settling back in. There were plenty of things that needed to be unloaded from the Battleshell, both things that had been brought with them and presents that they had all been given during Christmas. With all of them working together they were able to get through this chore pretty quickly.

As soon as everything was put away, Raph headed straight upstairs to his bedroom. He didn’t even bother to remove any of his gear before falling face first down onto his and Don’s bed. As nice as the bed at the farmhouse that he had slept in had been, there was no comparison.

At the most basic level, the bed in the lair was just more comfortable. It had been slept in more and worn down to just the right point for maximum softness. There was just no substitute for one’s own bed when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep.

The thing that really made this bed better than the one at the farmhouse was how it smelled. This bed was covered in the combined scent of both himself and Don and nothing could beat that. Right now all Raph wanted to do was bury his face in the pillows, breath in their combined scent, and drift off to sleep.

The only thing that kept Raph from doing that right now was the lack of his nice, warm mate curled up at his side. This was soon remedied when door opened and Don walked into the room. Following Raph’s example, Don didn’t bother taking off his gear before crawling into the bed beside Raph and pulling the covers up to his chin.

“There’s no place like home,” Don murmured sleepily.

“No place else I’d rather be,” responded Raph as he turned enough to pull Don into his side as they both drifted off to sleep.


	363. Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 28th - Moon

The trip up to the farmhouse with April and Casey may have been a vacation but even vacations had the ability to sap one’s energy. Don and Raph had spent most of the day curled up on the couch together watching movies and planned on continuing this throughout the evening.

Their plans however were interrupted by Mikey trying to force his own way onto the couch. While they were still tired today after getting back from the trip, Mikey had bounced back much faster. He had been running around the lair all day as though he were on a sugar high but swore that he hadn’t touched any candy or sweets.

Raph was even inclined to believe that considering Leo had been keeping him occupied in the dojo throughout most of the day. Mikey wouldn’t have had a chance to have snuck any sweets without someone seeing him and ratting him out. ran  
Wanting no part in Mikey disturbing his time with Don, Raph used his powerful leg muscles to shove Mikey off of the couch. The smaller turtle landed on the floor with a thump and glared up at his older brothers.

In a huff he stomped out of the room promising that he would have his revenge on certain brothers that refused to share the couch and the TV with such a cute and deserving younger brother like him. They thought nothing of Mikey’s threat until he can running back into the room carrying the Super Soaker that Casey had given him for Christmas and proceeded to drench them both.

Mikey ran away cackling like a madman as Don and Raph jumped up from where they were sitting with identical yells of surprise and unhappiness. By the time they had turned around to chase after their brother he was already gone.

“It must have something to do with the full moon tonight,” Raph grumbled as he and Don went to grab towels to dry off with.

“Tonight may by a full moon but there is absolutely no scientific proof to back up the claim that the moon has any effect whatsoever on people’s behavior,” said Don. “Besides, Mikey is crazy all of the time. Not just when there is a full moon.”

The sounds of screaming drew their attention back out into the main part of the lair. Mikey was once again running through the living room carrying his Super Soaker but this time he was being chased by a dripping wet Leo.

“You still sure that the moon doesn’t have anything to do with this?” Raph asked as he watched the scene. “You’d think out of all of us Mikey would be the one to know not to mess with Leo like that.”

“I said there was no scientific proof behind the moon causing odd behavior,” Don clarified. “Then again, Mikey is a rule unto himself. Anything is possible. Do you think we should help him?”

“Who? Leo or Mikey?” questioned Raph.

“You know, I’m not quite sure,” Don admitted. “The couch is free now though if we want to go back and I don’t think Mikey will be bothering us again.”

Raph grinned at Don’s idea. “I like the way you think Donnie-boy.”


	364. Talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 29th - Low

Being in a relationship with a genius wasn’t always easy which Raph had found out by being with one for almost a year. The long work hours and times when Don could get lost in thought were some things that Raph had learned to live with.

The thing that could be the most challenging however was the vocabulary that Don used. It wasn’t that Don purposefully used a vocabulary that could at times be difficult to understand. It was more that he took for granted everyone else’s ability to comprehend what he was saying.

Throughout the year that he and Don had been a couple, Raph had learned to deal with this communication problem. Raph’s coping came in three different ways depending on how patient he was feeling at the moment.

The first way was to just smile and nod and pretend like he knew what his lover was talking about. The second option was to stop Don halfway through what he was saying and telling him to speak in English if he wanted someone besides himself to understand. The third option was what he was doing to Don right now.

Currently Don was on his back on their bed with his hands tied to the headboard. His ankles were tied to the two bottom corners of the bed with a pillow tucked up under his hips thrusting his ass up into the air and giving Raph full access to it. To top all of this off, Don had his mask pulled low around his mouth acting as an effective gag.

“Don’t give me that look Don,” Raph chastised as he ran his hands up and down the inside of Don’s thighs. “I warned you that if you kept using words that I didn’t understand that I would find a better use for your mouth.”

Don’s response was just a series of low muffled sounds that were indecipherable. Raph just grinned wickedly as he played his hands up towards the juncture where Don’s plastron met skin and back down to the wiggling tail.

A low moan escaped from Don when Raph’s hot breath ghosted over the slit that housed his rapidly hardening cock on Raph’s way down to taking his tail into his mouth. The talented tongue that wrapped around his tail was enough to make Don drop down into the cool night air.

With slurp Raph let the tail fall out of his mouth. It was at this time that he brought out the surprise that he had hidden under the blankets when he first started tying Don to the bed. In his hand was the purple dildo that Don had bought a long time ago.

It was but the work of a moment for Raph to lube up the tip of the dildo and push it into Don’s tight entrance. This drew another low groan from Don which only intensified when Raph twisted the end of the dildo which activated the vibrator feature.

The vibrations from the dildo in Don’s ass which started out strong gradually began to slow to a stop. Unsure as to why this had happened, Raph pulled the dildo out of Don’s ass to take a look at the problem. Don whined at the loss of stimulation and the void that was left behind

“The batteries must be running low,” Raph observed as he tossed the dildo to the side and grabbed the bottle of lube again. “Guess we’ll just have to do this the old fashioned way.”


	365. Intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 30th - Close

Don had a full day ahead of him. He was currently ensconced up in the garage working on the Battleshell. After its trip up to and back from the farmhouse he wanted to give it a once over to check and see how it had help up to the snow, slush, sand, and salt that would have been kicked up into the underbelly.

Raph was close by looking over his shell cycle. It was past the point where he could safely ride on it until the spring came. This meant that he needed to make sure that it was in the proper shape to be put away for the winter months since keeping it in the back of the Battleshell would be highly inconvenient.

While his hands chipped away at the grit and grime under the Battleshell, Don allowed his mind to wander. It was almost a year since he and Raph had become a couple. It amazed Don just how close they had become over the course of their relationship.

This wasn’t the first time that they had worked together in the garage. They had been doing so ever since they moved to this lair after the mouser attacks. Even before that, Raph had been the one that Don had turned to when he needed help with any mechanical issues.

Now when they worked together there was a close sense of intimacy that filled the air. They didn’t have to be working on the same project. Just being in the same room together was enough. It was like electricity that jumped back and forth between them charging the air.

This intimacy that they shared was something that Don treasured and held dear to his heart. Being able to share not only his work but his life with someone else brought about a warm and fuzzy feeling that filled him from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.

They had always been close to each other while they were growing up and Don had always felt drawn to Raph even at a young age. That closeness had only evolved as they became a couple and began intertwining their lives together more tightly than just brothers could.

Don was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed when Raph finished with his shell cycle and came up close behind him to watch him work. It was only when he went to reach for a brush and an emerald hand was holding it out to him that Don was pull from his thoughts.

As Don took the brush from Raph’s waiting grip their hands met and their fingers interlaced. It was the simple things like this that could make Don’s heart flip flop in his chest and made him feel like he was falling in love with Raph all over again.

The smile on Don’s face as he finally pulled his hand away was enough to make a similar one form on Raph’s lips. It was the simplest of things for them that drew them even closer together and as long as they lived, nothing would tear them apart.


	366. Year's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December 31st - High

The year was coming to an end. There was only a small amount of time left and it was fast running out. At the stroke of midnight it would be a new year. It would also mark one year to the day that Raph had found the courage to tell Don how he felt about him.

So much had happened in this past year in their lives. Raph had admitted to Don that he loved him and by some miraculous twist of fate found that love returned. He had been able to call Don his own and pledged himself to Donatello in return in a way that went beyond the ties of family.

Their relationship hadn’t been perfect but then again, no one’s ever was. They had fought but had also made up. There had been tears but they were tempered by all of the laughter that had been shared. Most of all, the year had been filled with love.

This is why, as midnight drew ever closer, Raph had pulled Don out of the lair and away from the New Year’s Eve party that Mikey had orchestrated back home. There would be time later to hang out with their family and friends but right now Raph wanted this time for just the two of them.

They had made their way through the sewers at first before eventually venturing topside. Next they had made their way high above the streets of New York up to the rooftops where they began running and leaping until Raph drew them to a stop at the top of a certain apartment building.

Don looked around with a nostalgic smile on his face as he recognized the surroundings. “This is where you told me you loved me for the first time one a year ago,” Don thought out loud.

“This is where we started the year and I thought it would be a good spot to see the end of it,” Raph explained.

“And the beginning of a new one,” added Don.

“And so many more to come after that,” Raph promised.

Reaching out, Raph took Don’s hands in his own and drew him close until there was no space left between them. They stood like that within each other’s embrace just staring at each other as the last few minutes of the year ticked by. The apartment they were standing above had a window open and they could hear as the last minute’s countdown began.

Raph felt his heartbeat increase and his spirit soar as he looked down into Don’s soft chocolate eyes. There were times that Raph felt like he could drown in those eyes and times like now when he was sure that he knew why so many people took drugs to get high. If it felt anything like he felt right now with Don than it must be an incredible sensation.

“Five, four, three, two,” they whispered together drawing even closer with each number they counted down.

“One.”

As cheers and the scream of noisemakers erupted from the apartment below Raph and Don’s lips met as they welcomed in the new year. They were sure that they would be faced with new challenges to overcome and hurdles to jump over but as long as they faced the future together, there was nothing that they couldn’t accomplish.


End file.
